Haunted
by azure-lupis
Summary: AU and SLASH McKayxSheppard A Halloween fic! Rodney and his niece Madison buy a new, but old and falling down, house in a small town which the locals believe to be haunted. Which it most definitely is. Inspired by Rose Red. COMPLETE!
1. I

A/N: Since it's my first Halloween since I've joined the SGA fandom, I decided to write up a quick Halloween-ey fic for the occasion :D It's gonna be a creepy ride, guys.

And no, there's no Town of Origin in Garrett County, Maryland. But if there was/is...well, that'd be awesome. Seriously.

A/N2: The beginning might be a bit confusing when it comes to Madison and how she came to be in Rodney's care, but the short version is this: Caleb died when Maddie was young, so she doesn't remember him all that much, and Jeannie died only a few months previous (of the beginning of this fic) in a car accident, so Madison has gone to Rodney. All will be explained (better) later.

A/N3: (I'll stop talking soon, promise!) With school hounding me, I don't know how fast updates will be, but I'm hoping to have this finished by Halloween (hopefully.)

STATUS: TBC

RATING: K+

SUMMARY: AU and SLASH McKayxSheppard A Halloween fic! Rodney and his niece Madison buy a new (but old and frankly falling down) house in a small town (cliché enough yet?), which the locals believe to be haunted. Which it most definitely is. Inspired by Rose Red.

SPOILERS: Since it's AU, nothing.

WARNINGS: A bit of swearing. Our boys have quite the potty mouth sometimes.

DISCLAIMER: Everything Stargate Atlantis related is property of MGM. I own nothing.

x x x

**Colorado Springs, Colorado**

"Are you sure you have everything, Madison?"

"Yup, all packed up," came the rather sullen reply.

Rodney McKay sighed quietly and set down his bag on the hardwood floor. He squatted down in front of his niece to look her in the eyes. The girl had her mother's eyes; a bright intelligent blue.

"Maddie, I know you're not very happy about this, but you know that Atlantis Corp. is just getting started in that backwater town we'll be calling home. They need me there." He straightened up and gave Madison a pat on the head. "Besides, think of it like a fresh start. A new home, new friends, new school. It'll be good."

"But I'm happy here!" Maddie burst out, highly tempted to stomp her foot down. "What if I don't want new friends or a new home? I like this one!"

Rodney rubbed his temples. Jeannie had been much better with the whole 'talking' thing.

"Look, Madison—"

"You just want to forget about Mom! She loved this house!" Ignoring the shocked look on her uncle's face, Madison ploughed on. "She loved this house and now we're leaving it for some strangers to take!" Grabbing up her bag, the girl flung it over her shoulder and stomped out through the front door.

Silence filled the empty house as Rodney stood in the foyer, completely at a loss. He was making the right decision, wasn't he?

'_Yes, of course I am.'_

It didn't seem like it now, but he knew everything would work out.

'_Who the hell am I trying to convince?_'

Rodney's baby blues cast their gaze around the foyer once more, the colours on the walls a harsh reminder of Jeannie's love of her house. '_No, not hers anymore_.' She had spent hours pouring over those paint chips, putting thought into each and every room. It was strange to see the house so empty, so...unlived in.

With one last glance around, Rodney picked up his bag and heaved it over his shoulder. As he shut the door behind him, he could practically feel the house wilting, familiar presence gone.

x x x

**Town of Origin, Garrett County, Maryland**

'_God, when Elizabeth said 'small town' she meant it._'

And judging by the look on Madison's face, Rodney wasn't the only one who noticed it.

"Well, think of it this way," Rodney reasoned as he came to a stop in the middle of the deserted town. "At least it won't be difficult to make friends."

"If there _are_ any other people..."

Some days Rodney wished he didn't pass down his trademark McKay sarcasm and dry wit to the girl.

Without trying to placate her, Rodney pressed on the gas and continued through the small town. Once they made it down into the more residential part, his eyes started to flicker right and left, searching out a house number.

From what Elizabeth had told him, the house would be easy to spot and right on the corner.

'_Though these people could use some street lamps..._'

Admittedly, getting there nine at night wasn't exactly the smartest thing to do.

"Err, Uncle Mer...is that it?"

Rodney followed Madison's outstretched finger, nearly blanching when he caught sight of the house on the corner lot.

'_Well...shit._'

The car came to a slow stop, the red brake lights casting a not-so-welcoming glow over the overgrown lawn.

Both sets of eyes were fixed on the large, white manor. Rodney leaned across Madison's lap to get a better look out the rolled down window.

The manor was one of odd design. The front façade seemed almost...busy. Large windows and a turret stuck out in the dark night, their bright but peeling trim highlighted by the car's headlights. From where he was sitting, Rodney wasn't able to tell if the white face was brick or painted board, but whatever it was seemed to be crumbling in some places, mainly around the turret and windows.

Frankly, he was amazed that the thing wasn't falling down. Even the windows were still intact. His eyes traveled up to the top most part of the roof where a small balcony jetted out. He half expected a shadowy figure to be standing there staring at them.

'_Oh, for God's sake._'

Leaning back, he turned off the engine and opened the door. The dim light above them came to life.

"Well, let's get inside before we freeze to death. Though it's not like we have heating yet..."

Maddie's wide eyes were still fixed on the manor, mouth hanging open a few inches.

Rodney glanced over and did a double take, lips twitching slightly.

"You look like guppy. C'mon, grab your bag. Unless you want to spend the night in the car." A proposition that wasn't looking too bad right now. If the man didn't have a bad back, he would have actually considered it.

"W-we're sleeping in there?" came Madison's nervous question.

"No," corrected Rodney as he swivelled around to reach into the back seat. He missed the look of relief on his niece's face. "We're _living_ there. Come on then."

Together they grabbed their few bags and got out of the car. The moving van had been scheduled to arrive the next day, so they only brought clothes and absolute necessities; one of which was Rodney's laptop which he insisted he needed despite the fact that they had no internet or phone line access yet.

They climbed the mossy stone steps and up to the front door, Madison constantly staying a few inches behind her uncle. Rodney thoroughly wished he had someone to hide behind too.

Fishing the key out of his pocket, Rodney jammed it into the lock and turned. After a few failed attempts, the door finally swung open. A musty smell drifted out; an odd mix of wet stone and cold air. It reminded him greatly of his grandmother's old basement.

The inside of the manor was just as dilapidated as the outside, but it kept out most of the Fall chill, mainly due to all the windows being intact.

"Are you sure there's no Hilton or Best Western here?"

Rodney forced a smile onto his face, despite the butterflies that had taken residence in his stomach.

"Sorry, lady. I bet there's not even one in the next town over." It was definitely a thought though. '_Argh, I'm killing Elizabeth in the morning..._'

If they lived through it.

Rodney scowled and shook his head, forcing away any nerves. It was just a house. A big and admittedly creepy house. Sure, there was dust and it was cold, but there was nothing threatening. Allergies were annoying and all, but death was permanent. They would be fine.

Briefly leaving Madison's side, Rodney dumped his bag onto the ground and moved further into the foyer, searching for a light switch. Thankfully he found one without problem. The lights were dim, but when they flickered to life, it was like a beacon to the two.

"Alright, why don't we search out the kitchen? I know you squirreled away cookies in that bag of yours."

Madison grinned happily and latched onto Rodney's hand as they both made their slow way down the hall. After a wrong turn or two, they managed to find the kitchen and flip on the lights.

"Huh, that's not so bad," reasoned Rodney as he looked around. It was big, relatively clean, and the lights worked. '_Though the moth eaten curtains across the doors have to go..._' But truth be told, he was glad the patio doors were covered. Braving the backyard in the night wasn't something he was ready for yet.

"Alright, let's get into those cookies now!" Grabbing Maddie by the waist, he hauled her up and sat her down on the nearest counter. He plopped her bag down next to her.

After much rummaging, Madison yanked out the baggie of cookies with a happy smile.

"Wait, wait," interrupted Rodney as the girl reached for a Chips Ahoy. "We touched a lot of dusty stuff on the way in. Who knows what kind of germs are floating around in here? I think I have hand sanitizer in my bag..."

Madison rolled her eyes. Only her uncle carried hand sanitizer with him.

"Then get it already, Uncle Mer! I'm hungry."

Rodney huffed and looked around.

"Alright, alright. I think I left it in the front hall. Stay put."

Even though he was rather reluctant to leave Madison--mainly because then he would be alone—he gave her a pat on the head and walked quickly out of the kitchen. Ah, the things he did to stay sanitary.

Somehow managing to make it back to the foyer without getting lost—'_I'm a genius. I'm not going to get lost in a house..._'—he caught sight of his bag in the middle of the entry way and headed over to it. Picking it up, he opened it with one hand and started to rummage through.

When a chilly breeze brushed past him, he looked up suspiciously. That was when he noticed the opened front door.

"Shit. What kind of genius leaves the front door open?"

With a huff, he went back to searching for the sanitizer, feet absently walking him slowly over to the door.

"Ah-ha-AHH!"

The bag dropped from his hands as Rodney stumbled backwards, eyes wide and mouth agape. He stared in shock at the man in front of him in the doorway, heart pounding a mile an hour.

The man blinked before chuckling and rubbing the back of his neck.

"Wow, sorry. Didn't mean to scare you. I thought you knew I was here."

Rodney clutched the front of his jacket, wide eyes fixed on the guy. He looked normal enough. Tall, slender, funny looking head of hair. If Rodney hadn't been close to a panic attack, he would have even thought the man was attractive.

"What the hell is your problem?" he yelped, pulse finally starting to slow. "Are you _trying _to give me a hear attack?"

"Hey, I said I was sorry," the man defended with a pout. A pout, for God's sake!

Rodney scowled, finally dropping his hand before snatching up his bag.

"Who the hell are you anyways? Shouldn't you be tucked away in your bed somewhere?" Didn't small town folk go to bed at six pm or something? "Or did your square dance class run late?"

As opposed to flinching and tearing up like Rodney was used to, the man just smiled lazily and shrugged.

"What can I say? I've got a thing for promenading."

Rodney rubbed his temples, already feeling an oncoming headache.

"Alright, maybe you should just tell me who you are before I call the cops." He was already living in a creepy house with no heating and only a six year old for entertainment. He didn't need a killer stalker either.

"So I would have to arrest myself?" Before Rodney could comment, the guy smiled again and held out his hand. "Detective John Sheppard. I saw your car outside and the lights on in here, so I thought I would stop by, see what's going on."

"Oh..." Rodney blinked, watching as John Sheppard raised an eyebrow. Realizing that he was practically appraising the man, he did some damage control and took his hand to give it a firm shake. "Doctor Rodney McKay. And before you ask, no. I'm not medical. I'm a physicist."

"Cool," came the amused reply.

"Er, I suppose so..." With a shake of his head, Rodney peered past Sheppard's shoulder to spot a cop car parked behind his own.

"Making sure I'm not lying?"

Rodney scowled and heaved his bag over his shoulder.

"Can't be too careful," he answered, rolling his eyes. "Actually, I was wondering why you felt the need to 'check the place out'. It hasn't been that long since someone's lived here, has it?"

Once again, John's eyebrows rose. Apparently it was his turn to appraise Rodney.

"You don't know much about Stone Manor, do you?"

Rodney huffed, thrusting his hands into the pockets of his fleece lined coat.

"Clearly not since we just moved here."

"We?"

"Madison and I."

A peculiar look crossed John's face, almost unnoticeable.

"Wife?"

"Niece," Rodney answered with a snort, not noticing John's expression clearing up.

"Cool," came his now-obvious catchphrase. "Well, I'd tell you all about this place, but I'm sure you'd probably liked to get squared away." John's lips twitched as he waited for Rodney's reaction.

"Square...funny," Rodney responded, deadpanned. "And there's not much to..._square_ away actually. Our stuff won't be here until tomorrow. But Madison is probably tired, so..." He trailed off, hoping Sheppard would take the hint and bugger off.

Thankfully he did.

With a nod, John backed out onto the tiny porch and started down the mossy steps.

"Wait!"

He stopped and turned when Rodney called out.

"You called this place something. Stone Manor. Why?"

John blinked, then chuckled.

"You haven't been out into the backyard yet, have you?"

With a look of apprehension, Rodney frowned and asked, "...why?"

Before John could open his mouth, the other man talked right over him, hastily waving his hands. "Never mind, never mind. I don't want to know. Don't say a word. God, I'm never going to get to sleep now..."

Without another word to Sheppard, Rodney let out a muffled groan and shut the door.

"Nope," muttered John with a chuckle as he headed over to his car. "That guy's definitely not getting to sleep tonight."

And he didn't blame him. That place was damned creepy.

x x x

**11:30 pm – that night**

"Alright, Maddie. Climb in."

Rodney held up a corner of their makeshift bed, though it was really just a few blankets on the dusty hardwood floor. He was already counting down the hours to when he could climb into his real bed with the memory foam mattress.

Still wearing her coat, Madison practically jumped eagerly in under the blankets, pressing herself right up against Rodney.

The two had holed themselves up in the living room for the night, choosing it rather then the kitchen or any of the unexplored bedrooms.

'_God knows what kind of bugs are crawling around up there…or down here._'

But it was better then the kitchen where he would spend all night wondering what was on the other side of those moth covered drapes that blocked their view of the backyard.

'_Shoot, alright. Stop thinking, no more thinking. Just sleep. Sleeep…_'

_**Creak**__._

'_What was that?_'

Though Madison was snoring quietly away next to him, he still couldn't make his eyes close. Well, he did…but they only snapped open seconds later at any sound of movement. In all honesty, he didn't know how Maddie was able to fall asleep. It took her all of five seconds before she was out like a light, even _after_ asking for a Hilton Hotel.

'_What I wouldn't give for a hotel…or even a motel. Or a bed and breakfast. Well, maybe not a B and B. Who knows how sanitary they are when cooking their food. Or cleaning the sheets. Or—damn it, I'm supposed to be sleeping!_'

But how could he sleep with everything creaking around him?

'_God, why didn't we pick a corner to sleep in? We just HAD to sleep in the middle of the room where we have nothing to hide behind and something can jump out at us from any angle and it's cold and I'm hungry and tired and—Aw, COME ON, MCKAY! Shut up for once and sleep!_'

He let out a quiet huff and determinedly shut his eyes, hell bent on getting to sleep.

_**Creak**__._

'_What was that?_'

x x x


	2. II

STATUS: TBC

RATING: K+

SUMMARY: AU and SLASH McKayxSheppard A Halloween fic! Rodney and his niece Madison buy a new (but old and frankly falling down) house in a small town (cliché enough yet?), which the locals believe to be haunted. Which it most definitely is. Inspired by Rose Red.

SPOILERS: Since it's AU, nothing.

WARNINGS: A bit of swearing. Our boys have quite the potty mouth sometimes.

DISCLAIMER: Everything Stargate Atlantis related is property of MGM. I own nothing.

x x x

"Uncle Mer?"

"Mfnn…"

"Uncle Mer, wake up. I'm hungry!"

"Mffn…coffee…"

Madison swiftly kicked at the blankets, a huffy but amused grin tugging at her lips.

"Uncle MEEERRR!"

Rodney groaned and rolled onto his stomach.

"Alright, alright! I'm up…sort of…give me a few minutes, then we can eat…"

Once the last word was out of his mouth, Rodney's head dropped back down, the blankets practically smothering his face. Practically, but not quite, unfortunately for him.

Sometime during the early hours of the morning Rodney _had_ managed to fall into a light sleep, caught somewhere between dozing and semi-awareness. It wasn't a pleasant feeling, and was one that brought him back to his university days.

'_Ah, all-nighters. Can't pull those anymore…_'

He could hear Madison shuffling around the living room as he forced himself to open his eyes. With a yawn, Rodney pushed himself up onto his elbows to peer around blearily.

Now that it was morning, the house seemed much more cheerful. Well, not so much _cheerful_…more like 'not so damned creepy'.

Day light shone through the large bay windows in thin streaks, the dust and grim coating the glass hindering its translucency. Even in the beams of pale light, he could see tiny dust particles floating silently.

'_Oh, lovely...not only do I need a heating and construction guy, but a cleaning lady as well._'

With a sigh, Rodney shoved back the blankets and stood, back cracking as his spine straightened.

"Uncle Mer? Where should I brush my teeth?"

Looking over at his niece who stood by the large windows, he answered after a moment's pause, "Well, as much as it disgusts me, I suppose we could use the kitchen sink." Right now, he didn't have enough energy to brave the upstairs yet.

Ten minutes later, they were washed and cleaned. Well, as much as one could be with one change of clothes and some rather suspicious looking water. He made a mental note to get the supply checked while hoping to God it didn't run on a well. He wouldn't have been surprised.

"What are we getting to eat?" Madison chirped as they left the manor and climbed into the familiar car.

"I don't know," Rodney mused, the engine purring to life. "I think I saw a diner on the way in, but those people practically cook their _everything_ in a deep fryer…"

"Uncle Mer…"

"Oh, alright," he grumbled. He would never admit to anyone that he let a six year old get her way with him. Though she _was_ a McKay…

It took them only a few minutes to navigate their way into town, but soon enough they were pulling into a small parking lot a block away from the diner.

Just like the manor, the town had completely changed with the sun. Or maybe it was just the fact that they could actually see it now. Before when they had arrived, it had been deserted and sullen looking, but now it was brightly lit with flowers and the odd fountain here and there. People walked up and down the side walk, clearly in no hurry to get to their destination, if they even had one.

It was the perfect little town.

And Rodney hated it. Madison didn't seem all that thrilled either.

"You said there would be kids here, Uncle Mer…where are they?"

Rodney sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets.

"They're all probably at school, Maddie. It's almost noon after all."

The pair lapsed into silence as they made their way down the sidewalk, skirting a slow moving old woman. Though the 'small town' thing wasn't Rodney cup of tea—or coffee--, he had to admit that the clean and unpolluted air was a nice change. It smelled like winter; a mix of cold air and outdoor fires. It reminded him immediately of Canada.

'_The nose knows._'

Tilting his head back, he cast his gaze up to the sky. '_And speaking of Canada…_' It definitely looked like snow was in their forecast. Hopefully it wouldn't drop right away. He still needed to get heating worked out, not to mention double panes for the windows to keep said heat _in_…and then there was the reconstruction in the crumbling areas he saw outside—

"Mfn…I need coffee," Rodney muttered as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

Thankfully they got to the diner in one piece only a few minutes later.

"I sort of like that everything's in walking distance…" Madison murmured as if hating that she was admitting it.

'_Maybe she'll get used to this place after all…_'

That would make one of them.

Half expecting a bell to jingle as he pushed the door open, Rodney ushered Madison inside the small but warm restaurant and over to the counter. A man was sitting on a stool a couple spots away from theirs, but Rodney hardly cast him a glance.

The diner wasn't all that full; only the man and a few pairs sitting in their usual spots were there to catch the late breakfast special.

'_Oh, joy. A special._'

Feeling a tug on his sleeve, Rodney looked down at Madison and asked, "Know what you want?"

She nodded and pointed to the small blackboard leaning off to the side. The menu was neatly handwritten in pink chalk.

"I want the pancakes with bacon but no eggs."

Rodney chuckled and nodded, feeling his lips beginning to twitch. At least they had the same taste in food.

"That sounds good, I'll have the same."

Once the waitress—a purple haired seventy-something old woman—took their orders—"And a cup of coffee. Actually, make that three."—Madison tugged on her Uncle's sleeve again and asked, "Can I have a few quarters, Uncle Mer?"

Catching sight of the pinball machine in the corner, Rodney nodded and fished out a good five dollars in quarters.

"Sure, Maddie. Have fun."

She gave him a faint smile before slipping off the stool and heading over to the corner.

Rodney watched her go, his expression sullen. Though they got along fine, he was having serious doubts if they would ever be _close._

'_It's only been a few months since Jeannie…I can't expect her to just bounce back and accept me like I'm a bag of freakin' cotton candy._'

With a shake of his head, Rodney straightened up and leaned forwards, trying to peer into the back kitchen. He couldn't see them making their food, but it definitely smelled good as much as he hated to admit it.

"I wonder if there's any citrus in their pancakes…" he wondered, not really knowing nor caring that he was speaking out loud and essentially to himself.

"They're pancakes, McKay. Why would there be citrus in them?"

Jolting slightly, Rodney scowled and looked to his right. Immediately he recognized the man, but his name escaped him.

"Oh, it's you. The square dancer."

As if knowing that Rodney couldn't remember his name, the man smirked lazily and said, "Detective John Sheppard. But I go by Mr. Square Dance too."

"I'm sure you do," McKay muttered, going back to staring at a spot on the plastic counter. '_Ugh, where's my coffee…_'

"I take it you didn't have such a great night," continued Sheppard, his fingers wrapped around a nice…big…steaming…cup…of coffee.

Rodney practically had to force himself to shut his mouth and not drool at the sight.

Of the coffee.

"You could say that. The place isn't exactly the Hilton."

Sheppard smiled, humming in agreement as he took a sip of his drink.

"Still haven't looked in the backyard then?"

"What the—do you have a backyard fetish or something?" snapped Rodney. It was too early for conversation. "No, I haven't looked in the backyard yet and frankly, I don't think I want to. I haven't even been upstairs yet."

John's eyebrows rose. He set his mug down and said, "You slept in an old house you've never been in before without even checking upstairs first?"

Resisting the urge to thunk his head down onto the counter top, Rodney rubbed his forehead and glanced over at Sheppard.

"No, I didn't. The downstairs was bad enough. You think I'm checking upstairs in the middle of the night with hardly any lights? No thank you." A sudden wide-eyed look came over him. "Why? Do you think there's animals or something? Hobos? Though, I suppose they wouldn't technically be hobos if they were staying in the house. Hobos wander, right? Drifters. So I guess if there was someone in the house, they would just be—"

"Squatters," supplied Sheppard who looked completely amused with Rodney's ramblings. Did the man even take a breath?

"Yeah, right. Them." Rodney blinked. "Do you think…"

"All the time," answered Sheppard promptly. "Sometimes even every minute."

With a scowl, Rodney emphasized, "Squatters. Do you think there's any? Because I'd rather not, you know…live with them."

John chuckled and took another sip of his liquid gold.

"Honestly? I don't think so. But I can come by later and check the place out for you."

"Hmph. I don't need—"

"Here's your food, dearie."

Rodney straightened up when his plate of pancakes was placed in front of him. Grease from the bacon rolled temptingly down the strips. Even Rodney couldn't pass that up.

"And your coffee. Any sugar or cream?"

"Just black." Swivelling in his stool, Rodney waved to Madison. "Come eat, Maddie."

Looking over, the blonde girl spotted her own plate next to her Uncle's and smiled with a nod.

When Rodney turned back to the counter, he glanced over to find Sheppard's eyes leaving Madison to find his.

"She's cute," John said with a lazy smile. "You said she was your niece?"

"Yes," came the succinct reply as Rodney bit off the end of a strip of bacon.

"She your sister's or brother's?"

"Sister's. I don't have a brother." Rodney paused before correcting himself. "Well, I had a brother-in-law."

"Had?"

"…_yes_," answered Rodney, starting to get irritated.

"What happened to them?" John questioned as he set his mug down. "If you don't mind my asking."

"What is this? The Spanish Inquisition?" snapped Rodney, his fork and knife dropping onto his plate. "They died. As in no longer around. Gone to the astral plane. Ascended into a higher state of—"

"I get it," assured John, though not looking too happy about it. "Sorry for my nosiness. Force of habit."

Even though Rodney despised people poking their noses into his life, he couldn't yell at the man for being curious. His life's work was all about curiosity after all.

"Don't worry about it," McKay muttered with a shrug. He fell silent when Madison climbed up onto the stool beside him. She was still—well, talking about the death of her parents wasn't easy for her. Understandably so.

Taking the hint to move onto a new topic, John leaned past Rodney to give Maddie a smile.

"So how do you like Origin so far?"

Rodney blinked at the sudden mass of dark scruffy hair in front of his face, and more importantly, over his plate.

"Hey, hey! Don't lean over my food," he complained, scowling when John blatantly ignored him.

"It's alright," Madison answered with a bit of a shrug as she drenched her pancakes in a river of syrup. "I haven't seen any kids…"

John smiled, resting his chin on his palm and planting his elbow right beside Rodney's plate.

"They're all at school right now. But since you're living here now, you'll be going to the same place as them, I assume. They're a great bunch of kids. You'll like them."

"You know what _I_ like? Hair-free food," Rodney interjected, staring pointedly at Sheppard.

John turned his head, nose inches from Rodney's. His lips curved into a lazy smile.

"My hair is firmly attached to my head, McKay. But if you insist…" He leaned back dutifully, flourishing his arms. "Better?"

"Much," came the muttered reply. Now that he had his space back, Rodney was almost missing the outdoorsy scent of the man.

But at least his food was hair free.

With a twitch of his lips, John put his chin back on his palm, though not as close to Rodney's plate this time.

"So, what's Stone Manor like?"

"Creepy," came Madison's prompt answer as she munched on her bacon. "Funny name though. Why is it called that?"

"Yes, why exactly?" Rodney added, his suspicious gaze finding Sheppard's. Now that the sun was out, his curiosity was back.

"Not scared anymore?" asked Sheppard teasingly, as if hearing Rodney's thoughts.

"Hmph. I'll have you know that I wasn't scared. Merely…"

"Scared," finished Madison with a solemn nod. "So was I, Uncle Mer. It's okay to be scared sometimes."

Both adults' gaze landed on the six year old.

Finally after a few slightly stunned moments, John smiled and said, "You're right, Madison. Everyone gets scared. Right, Rodney?"

Rodney started when he realized the last bit was directed towards him.

"What? Oh, yes. Of course. Even adults." Though he knew that Madison wasn't just referring to the house. He suspected that John got that impression as well.

'_Wiser then her years, just like her mother._'

Swiftly carrying on with the original topic, Sheppard said, "And I think it would be better to _show_ you why the place is called Stone Manor. But long story short, the couple that used to live there way back when were named Edward and Prudence Stone."

"Way back when?" echoed Rodney, eyebrows coming together. "Exactly how far back is 'way back'?"

"Pretty 'way'. Sometime during the 1900's, I'd say."

"Huh," Rodney hummed thoughtfully as he bit off a piece of his bacon.

"Do you think there's any ghosts?" asked Madison innocently.

John thumped a fist against Rodney's back when he choked in mid-bite.

"G-ghosts?" he gasped, reaching for Sheppard's coffee since he had long since finished his. "Don't be ridiculous, Maddie. There's no such thing." He gulped down the rest of the mug and took a breath. "So no. No ghosts."

Looking unconvinced, Madison looked to John.

"What do you think?"

Both pairs of McKay eyes burned into him as John debated what to say. One glance at Rodney told him to 'say _no_ or I'll make your life hell'.

He decided to play it safe.

"Naw," he drawled, pulling his empty mug towards him. "No ghosts. I've been in there lots of times and saw nothing."

Madison still looked unconvinced as she went back to her food, missing the slight frown that flickered across the detective's face.

Rodney noticed, but didn't mention it. After all; ghosts? Please. The guy was probably just superstitious.

A sudden thought popped into his head.

"What time is it?"

Sheppard glanced down at his watch.

"Nearly noon, why?"

With a mumbled curse, Rodney dug full-force into his breakfast.

"Because the mover's—hey, wait a minute. Why aren't you at work? Busting crimes or something?" The fork paused mid-way to his mouth.

John chuckled and raised an eyebrow.

"Busting crimes? Here? This town doesn't exactly make the number one rank in the Morgan Quitno 'Worst Cities' list." He gave Rodney a lazy grin. "Besides, I'm on break."

"At noon?"

"Lunch break."

"More like brunch break. I mean, honestly. What kind of police detective goes for brun--"

"You asked what time it was?"

"Oh, right right. The moving van is supposed to be here today by twelve thirty or so." Setting down his fork, Rodney looked over at Madison to see her picking away at her half eaten breakfast. She wasn't looking too thrilled.

"I thought you were starving," Rodney commented.

Madison didn't look up, just gave him a shrug.

"Well, should we head out then? The moving van should be here soon. You want to set up your stuff, right?"

"Not really."

An uncomfortable silence fell across them. John fought the urge to edge away, feeling like an intruder in a family problem. Which, he supposed, he technically was. But Rodney looked like he was at a loss as to what to say. John nudged the man gently in the side.

"Hey, I can bring her around once she's finished eating if you want. Give her some time…"

Rodney looked from John to Madison and back.

"I don't know," he said pensively, leg jiggling against the stool. "I mean, come on. We just met you. And you probably have other things to do—"

"I want to stay," Madison interrupted as she prodded her fork against a cooling piece of pancake. "For a bit." She looked like she wanted to say more, but instead she just stared at her plate.

Rodney's slightly wide eyes landed on his niece. "Are you sure?" When he received a nod in response, he just paused and said, "Alright then…if you're sure."

As he reached into his pocket to pull out his wallet and fish out a couple bills, he couldn't help but glance continuously over at Madison. It was times like this that he honestly felt like he was at a loss.

'_I need a parenting for dummies…_'

And the thought that he needed a stupid book like that to look after his niece made him practically sick to his stomach.

A warm hand on his forearm yanked him out of his thoughts.

"Are you alright?" John asked quietly, as if knowing what was going through Rodney's mind.

"Yes, yes," came the irritated response as his walls automatically rose. "Of course I'm fine. Just a little…busy. Moving and all. Do you mind?" He raised an eyebrow and gestured to the hand on his arm.

Once John hastily removed it, Rodney tossed down the money and slid off the stool.

"Alright," he started reluctantly, though obviously trying to hide it. The poor man didn't have much of a poker face. "Madison has my cell number if you need anything. But take your time…and no high speed chases with her in the car," he added with narrowed eyes.

John grinned lazily.

"Won't even turn the sirens on."

"Hm." He would believe that when he saw it. Or heard it.

A hasty goodbye later and Rodney was out the door, bell jingling.

John sighed and looked over at Madison who was still prodding away at her food.

"So…" he started, racking his brain. What did six year olds like these days? "Did I mention I like Ferris Wheels?"

x x x

A/N: the creepiness will start up in the next chapter :D


	3. III

STATUS: TBC

RATING: K+

SUMMARY: AU and SLASH McKayxSheppard A Halloween fic! Rodney and his niece Madison buy a new (but old and frankly falling down) house in a small town (cliché enough yet?), which the locals believe to be haunted. Which it most definitely is. Inspired by Rose Red.

SPOILERS: Since it's AU, nothing.

WARNINGS: A bit of swearing. Our boys have quite the potty mouth sometimes.

DISCLAIMER: Everything Stargate Atlantis related is property of MGM. I own nothing.

x x x

"Hey! HEY! Careful with that! I'm not paying an outrageous amount for you to break things!"

The two men carrying Rodney's kitchen table rolled their eyes for the umpteenth time as they struggled in past the doorway.

Rodney scowled and stuffed his hands into his pockets. Not only were his possessions being mangled by the movers, but it had been over half an hour since he had left Madison with Detective Bed Head. Where on Earth were they?

As if on cue, the faint sound of sirens met the Canadian's ears.

_Oh, for—liar!_

He watched with narrowed eyes as Sheppard's patrol car rolled up next to the sidewalk and come to a stop.

John shut down the engine and killed the sirens before sliding out and facing Rodney with a grin.

"Sorry," he said before the scientist could chew him out. "Couldn't help it."

"Somehow I'm not surprised…" Rodney muttered, watching as Madison hopped out. The girl was clearly trying to hide a smile. "And I suppose you had fun in the loud and speeding car?"

She nodded, watching as the movers continued to haul their possessions into the house.

"It was fun. I've never been in a cop car before."

"Let's hope you never will again."

John chuckled and gave Rodney a light punch to his arm.

"Hey, maybe next time you can come along too. Everyone likes loud and flashing lights. Even you, McKay."

"Oh yes," started Rodney with an eye roll while rubbing his bruised limb. "The only loud and flashing lights I'd get to see if I got in a car with you would be the ambulance coming to take me away."

Before John could open his mouth, one of the movers headed over and stuck out the bill, practically thrusting it under Rodney's nose.

"We're done here, Mac. That'll be two hundred."

Muttering under his breath, Rodney scrawled out a cheque with pursed lips and handed it over.

"There. Don't spend it all in one place."

Ignoring the sarcasm, the mover raised an eyebrow and waited.

Rodney stared back, annoyance written all over his face.

"What?"

With a nudge to the man's side, John said in amusement, "I think he's waiting for his tip, McKay."

"Tip? After banging up my table and calling me 'Mac'? Oh, no. I don't think so, my friend. Be on your way." He wiggled his hands in the mover's direction before snorting and making the trek across the lawn to the front door.

John waited for the rather large movers to get in their truck and drive off before chuckling.

"Is he always like that?" he asked Madison.

She nodded, the corners of her lips twitching.

"All the time." Still hovering near Sheppard, Madison waved a hand at her Uncle and called, "Uncle Mer, wait! Mr. Sheppard was going to show us something, remember?"

Resisting the urge to smack his head against the doorframe, Rodney sighed and walked back down the stairs and across the lawn. He caught sight of Sheppard's grin and frowned. He didn't like the looks of that.

"What's the ridiculous smile for?"

"Why does she call you 'Mer'?" John asked with feigned innocence.

A bit of a pink tinge made its way across the Canadian's face.

"Pet name?"

"Nice try," John said promptly. "Madison?"

Maddie smiled and answered, "It's his name. Meredith. He doesn't like it though because it's a girl's name."

"Okay, that's enough of that," Rodney intervened hastily. He shot Sheppard a look. "You were going to show us something? And so help me, it better not have anything to do with ghosts. I don't need Madison staying up all night cowering in fear in my bed."

"I'm not scared of ghosts, Uncle Mer," defended Madison with a slightly offended look on her face.

"Well some of us are," Rodney muttered, zipping up his jacket moodily. "If they were real, that is. Which they're not."

Taking pity on the scientist, John waved a hand and started trekking across the lawn to the right side of the house.

"Nah, no ghosts. Just a cemetery."

"What?!"

"Well, sort of. You'll see."

"Oh, that's just great…"

With a reluctant sigh, Rodney followed Madison who followed John down the side of the house. Every few steps he was tripping over his own feet, the vines and thick branches tugging at his jacket.

"Okay, ow! What the hell are we doing?" he complained after a good two minutes, stopping to gently tug a leaf out of Madison's hair.

John sent a grin over his shoulder.

"Going to your backyard obviously."

"Oh, _obviously_," came the scathing reply. "Why didn't we just go through the house? We DO have backdoors, you know!"

"Dramatic effect?"

"Eugh…"

A few more moments of tugging—and in Rodney's case, mentally cursing—they finally made it into the back.

Rodney stared around at the large yard. The whole area was practically swamped with grass and vines. If there had been flowers, they would have been smothered. Only a single rose bush had managed to somehow survive in the jungle of a yard, red blossoms curving along the drowned trellis and—

"You have GOT to be kidding me!"

"That's another reason they call it Stone Manor," John said unnecessarily.

Too stunned to reply, Rodney just stared up at the large stone figure. Ivy and thorny rose vines curled around it, giving it a chilling macabre vibe. It's eyes were closed, hands folded in front of it.

"It's an angel," Madison murmured, her eyes fixed on the figure that was placed in the centre of the yard.

"A freakish one…"

John wandered over to the pair, hands draped in his pockets.

"Some people think it's actually Prudence, but no one knows for sure. Edward Stone had it made for her."

"After she died?" questioned Rodney, unable to take his eyes off the…thing.

"Nah, she was still alive."

"Again, freakish."

He would never admit it out loud, but Rodney was damned glad he hadn't opened those curtains the night before.

"I kind of like it."

Two pairs of eyes landed on Madison.

After a few awkward moments, Rodney said in what he hoped was a relaxed voice, "Yes, well you also like Hannah Montana, so let's not go there." Dropping his hands onto her shoulders, he tugged the six year old against his legs protectively…or perhaps as a shield. "Right, well that was all very…unique, but we have boxes to unpack furniture to arrange."

Sheppard took the not so subtle hint and nodded.

"You got it. I should get back to work anyways. _Brunch_ was over a long time ago."

He gave Rodney a lazy grin and half-assed salute before patting Madison on the head and making his way back down the side lane. "See you two later."

"You could have—" Rodney sighed and rolled his eyes, giving up when the detective disappeared. "…gone through the house. Whatever…freak."

"I like him."

"Did we not just go over the whole 'Hannah Montana' thing?"

x x x

**10am – that night**

"How do you like your room?"

After unpacking most of their possessions and calling dibs on their desired bedrooms, it was around ten at night. Rodney had somehow managed to whip up a quick dinner, Madison heading for bed once she was finished eating.

"It's alright. Kind of…dusty," Madison answered with a shrug as her Uncle sat down on the edge of her bed, the mattress dipping under his weight.

Rodney huffed and nodded, gaze flickering around the room.

"You're definitely right about that. We'll get all the rooms cleaned up tomorrow. This is alright for now though, right?" He was almost hoping that she would say 'no' just so he didn't have to spend all night alone in his own room.

'_Oh, for—you're a grown man AND a scientist. Get over yourself!_'

"This is fine, Uncle Mer." Madison eyed her uncle. "Why? Are you scared?" She asked her question innocently, not a hint of teasing.

"What? No, of course not," Rodney scoffed, waving a hand. "I just thought you might be."

"I'm not. I'm fine."

"Alright then."

"Yup." She buried herself deeper under the heavy comforter, blonde hair poking out.

"If you're sure."

"I'm sure."

"…_sure_ sure?"

"Uncle Mer!"

"Alright, alright!" Sighing, he embarrassedly gave her a fond pat of the head and an extra tuck in the blankets before standing and clearing his throat. "Well, goodnight then, Maddie. Have, uhh…good dreams and all that."

Madison murmured back a 'goodnight' before sinking down almost completely under the blankets and shutting her eyes.

Hoping that the girl was just tired and that he wasn't being dismissed by a six year old, Rodney made his way over to the doorway and flicked off the lights. A small battery-powered night light glowed softly in the corner of the room. Still feeling slightly wary, he left the door open a crack before heading down the creaky stairs and into the kitchen.

"Alright, coffee and work."

Blatantly ignoring the curtains that hid the patio doors, he walked over to his prized coffee machine on the counter and started it up. Once the familiar sounds of dripping and bubbling filled the kitchen, Rodney let out a sigh and stretched.

"Now where did I put my laptop?"

It took him a few minutes to get settled but finally he was seated at the table and hooked up. Unfortunately, internet access was still in the works. But that didn't stop him from drafting a not-so-nice letter to Elizabeth Weir about his…living conditions.

"…_poor Maddie's terrified_…_wants to sleep in my room_…" A little guilt wouldn't hurt. "…_your company better be worth it_…_and furthermore_—"

_**Scratch**__._

His fingers slipped across the keys as he straightened up hastily to look over his shoulder. When only the sounds of the coffee maker continued, he huffed out and went back to his email. "…_and furthermoreansnddf_…" Backspacing with a disgruntled mutter, he started up his virtual tirade once again.

_**Scratch.**_

_**Scratch, scratch.**_

A bit of a squeak escaped the scientist, his head turning slowly to the side.

"M-Maddie?" He cleared his throat and tried again. "Madison?"

Rodney waited a few moments, hardly breathing. The house remained quiet, save for the soft sounds of his coffee maker. Just as he started to reluctantly turn back to his laptop, the scratching noise kicked up again.

Caught somewhere between insane fear and curiosity, Rodney slid out of his seat to slowly stand in the middle of the kitchen. He wondered just what the hell he was doing as he hesitantly followed the sound.

"Just my luck…" he muttered when he neared the curtains. His heart thudded in his chest, practically making its way up his throat. '_Okay…just pull them back. It's probably just the wind._' He nodded to himself and raised a shaky hand. Fingers curled around the thick material. '_Do it already, McKay! You're a scientist! There's nothing out there! Well, at least nothing supernatural…a axe murderer or some—damn it! No! No more thinking!_'

Blood rushed to his ears, a slight nauseous feeling curling in his stomach as he took a breath, the scratching unrelenting. Before he could change his mind, he whipped back the curtain and jumped back to see—

Nothing.

It was so dark that he couldn't even see that…thing. He refused to call it an angel. He didn't exactly believe in them, but that just _wasn't_ what he pictured when he thought them.

A branch grinding across the dirty glass jolted him out of his thoughts.

"God, that's the oldest trick in the book," he muttered, pretty much disgusted with himself. "I can't believe I fel—"

_**SMASH.**_

Yelping, McKay jumped backwards and slammed into the patio doors with a thud just in time to see a small animal skitter down the hallway and into an unused room. Seconds later, he realized that his back was to the pitch dark backyard, and, despite the glass between him and the outdoors, he yelped again and bolted over to the table.

Breathing heavily, he kept his gaze on the door, unblinking. After a good five minutes of nothing happening, he edged over just until he was in arms reach of the curtains and yanked them back across.

Finally able to relax, however slightly, the Canadian looked over to the counter, only now remembering the animal he had seen. A squirrel? Racoon? Whatever it was had broken his mug, presumably knocking it off the counter and onto the floor.

"…time for bed!"

He hastily shut down his laptop and abandoned the fresh pot of coffee to turn off the kitchen lights and hastily walk out.

"Though if there _is_ an animal in here…"

Against his better judgement, Rodney stuck his head into the room the creature had disappeared into. It didn't take him all that long to find a chewed out hole that led outside.

"Oh, lovely," he snarled. There was only so much the poor man could take. "I'm going to have a heart attack one of these days. I just know it…"

Grumbling under his breath, he slowly started to push a desk that the movers had haphazardly put in the empty room. Once the back had covered the hole, he straightened up and brushed down his shirt.

"Right. Bed."

Rubbing his forehead, McKay walked out down the hall and started up the staircase. After a few moments, he could hear the soft padding of feet coming down the hall.

"Uncle Mer? Are you alright?"

Madison stuck her head up over the railing, peering down the stairs at him. She looked to be still half asleep, blonde hair everywhere.

Rodney sighed and nodded, a smile tugging at his lips. She may have been a couple minutes late, but she _did_ get up to check on him. It was the thought that counted.

"I'm fine, Maddie. Let's get you back into bed."

Reaching the top of the stairs, he hauled the dozing girl up into his arms and made his way down to her room.

"We heard you yell," Madison mumbled, eyes shut as she sunk down under her comforter. "Wha' happened?"

Rodney tucked the blankets in around her, a slightly embarrassed expression appearing on his face.

"Uh…I dropped my mug. It was my favourite."

Madison nodded solemnly before drifting off, clutching her stuffed animal.

It was only when Rodney climbed into his own bed and lay back when Madison's words finally registered.

'_We?_'

Another sleepless night awaited the scientist.

x x x

A/N: Okay, so not 'ghost' creepy yet…or is it? Hmm…

EDIT: I added two links on my profile page: One for the house and one for the angel.


	4. IV

A/N: okay, wow. So this totally wasn't finished by Halloween, but it wasn't for lack of trying, I swear. I've been having major writer's block, but my darling Fitzroy stopped me from throwing my computer off the tallest tower and helped me get the plot straightened out. I owe her about a hundred Sheppard cookies. *g*

A/N2: that, and school is a bitch.

STATUS: TBC

RATING: K+

SUMMARY: AU and SLASH McKayxSheppard A Halloween fic! Rodney and his niece Madison buy a new (but old and frankly falling down) house in a small town (cliché enough yet?), which the locals believe to be haunted. Which it most definitely is. Inspired by Rose Red.

SPOILERS: Since it's AU, nothing.

WARNINGS: A bit of swearing. Our boys have quite the potty mouth sometimes.

DISCLAIMER: Everything Stargate Atlantis related is property of MGM. I own nothing.

x x x

As the days passed, Rodney's fear and paranoia quickly turned to frustration and down right aggravation. He had finally gotten around to calling in the contractors, heating people, and his phone and internet provider. The heating and phone had gone fine, but the contractors? They were another matter all together. Not only did they demand lunch breaks—'_honestly, lunch breaks? Just fix the damn hole!_'—but they insisted on working everywhere Rodney was.

"Okay, that's it!"

Snapping his laptop shut, Rodney jumped up from the kitchen table and tucked the slim computer under his arm. "You idiots are driving me absolutely crazy!"

He ignored the smirks of the construction workers as he stomped off out of the kitchen and down the hall. Pausing at the base of the stairs, he yelled up, "Maddie? Come downstairs. We're going to take a trip into town." _And by 'trip' I mean five minute walk._ But it was better then hanging around with his ears ringing from the constant hammering.

Though he had to admit, the house was looking better. Gaping holes and crumbling brick didn't exactly make the front page of Home and Garden magazine.

"Why are we going to town?" Madison asked as she came down the stairs, a sketch book clutched in her right hand.

"Because the Neanderthals wielding hammers are driving me insane. I need somewhere quiet to work." He also wanted to be able to hear Elizabeth's sobs after he chewed her out for sending them to Origin.

"Can't I stay here?"

"Alone? With them?" Rodney scoffed and reached out to take Madison's hand. "I don't think so, little lady. Come on, I'll buy you an ice cream."

Looking slightly happier, Madison nodded and headed out of Stone Manor with her Uncle.

"Do you think we'll see Detective Sheppard?"

Rodney raised an eyebrow and glanced down at her.

"Who? Oh, the one with the funny hair." He shrugged, uncaring. "I don't know. Probably. Lord knows that man is hardly ever working."

It had only been a little less then a week since they had seen John Sheppard, and Madison had asked about him at least once a day.

"I liked him," Maddie said with a smile. "After you left before to meet the movers, he bought me a sundae."

"He bought you a sundae for breakfast? And _then_ put the sirens on when he brought you home?" Now _Rodney_ wanted to see the man again. To berate his parenting skills, of course. '_Not that I have any of my own…_'

"Can we go back to the diner?"

Rodney raised an eyebrow and looked down at the blonde girl.

"Why? Hoping Sheppard is there?" His lips quirked teasingly. "He's a little old for you, you know."

Madison stuck out her tongue with an impish smile.

"Very funny, Uncle Mer. I just want somewhere to sit so I can finish my picture. And eat my ice cream, of course."

"Oh, of course," Rodney agreed solemnly, for you had to eat ice cream sitting down. How else could one enjoy the treat to its fullest? "And what picture are you working on?" He peered down at her closed sketch book.

Noticing his curious gaze, Maddie clutched the book tightly against her chest.

"Not until it's done."

"Alright, alright."

x x x

"—honestly, Elizabeth. You're lucky I think Atlantis Corp. will go somewhere fast or else I wouldn't be here."

Rodney rolled his eyes as the woman sighed on the other end of the phone, the sound raspy.

"_I know you're not happy with the town, but it'll only be for a year or so…just until we get off the ground and into a more populated area._"

"My high school was more populated."

"_Rodney, please. Just deal, alright?_"

Taking pity, Rodney sighed and muttered, "Fine. But I think I deserve a raise."

"_You haven't even started yet,_" came the amused reply.

"…at least send me a housewarming present."

"_How's that going by the way? The e-mail you sent didn't make it sound too great…_"

Rodney slouched against the soft cushioning of the booth, his knees hitting the underside of the table.

"It's going," he answered succinctly, peering over to check on Madison who sat at the counter of the diner, drawing away in her book. A bowl of ice cream layered with sprinkles sat on her left, the chocolate slowly melting.

"_That sounds promising,_" Elizabeth said wryly, obviously aware that Rodney's attention was elsewhere. "_Well, I suppose I'll let you get back to whatever it was that you were doing. Which I suspect will include angry e-mails…_"

"Hey! I only sent one!"

"_Try six._"

"…oh. Well, I'm sure they were well deserved."

Another amused sigh.

"_I'm sure they were. I'll check in with you in a few days, Rodney. Try to enjoy yourself._"

Rodney muttered back a generic reply before snapping his cell shut and slumping down once more.

"Enjoy myself."

He looked back over at Madison, a determined look pulling at his features.

"Right."

Pushing out of the booth, he made his way over to the counter to slide onto the stool next to Maddie.

The blonde girl glanced over at him before gently pushing the bowl of half-eaten ice cream over to him.

"Here, Uncle Mer. You can have the rest. I got full," she told him smartly, eyes glued to the paper.

Not one to pass up ice cream, Rodney picked up the spoon and scooped up a bite.

"How's the picture going?" he asked through a mouthful of chocolate and sprinkles.

"Almost done. Hold on…"

With forced patience, Rodney finished the ice cream and pushed away the bowl, wondering just why the heck he was sitting in a diner doing nothing but waiting for a picture by his six-year old niece.

'_Because that's what I'm supposed to be doing right now._'

"Uncle Mer? I'm done."

To Rodney's surprise, he actually felt eagerness tug at him.

"Well, let's see it then."

Turning on the stool, he leaned over Madison's shoulder to peer down at the book.

He stared, then frowned.

"That's very…creative."

'_This is some way of dealing with Jeannie's death, right?'_

Though the woman on the paper had little resemblance to his sister.

"Maybe you should explain this to me," Rodney advised.

Madison smiled and nodded, eager to finally share her picture.

Her small finger pointed to a young girl that definitely resembled the artist herself in bed.

"That's me in my new room. See? I even put in the crack in the paint."

Rodney eyed the jagged line that marred one side of the drawn in wall.

"So you did. Continue."

His niece pointed to the woman sitting on the edge of the bed, her hand on Madison's shoulder.

"That's the woman who helps me to sleep every night. She calls me Alice."

'_Come again?_'

"…why does she call you Alice?" Rodney questioned after a few beats of silence, slightly wide eyes glued to the paper.

Madison shrugged, absently shading in a few areas here and there.

"I don't know. She just does."

Another thought struck Rodney.

"This—this is from one of your stories right? Those little plays you write? You know, a scene or something?"

Madison laughed and shook her head.

"No, silly. I told you, she helps me go to sleep every night. Like yesterday after you tucked me in."

She turned back to her picture to resume shading, not noticing the wide-eyed look on her uncle.

'_Son of a bitch. When she said 'we' before, I didn't think…_'

Well, honestly. Who would have thought it was a ghost she was referring to?

'_There's no such thing as ghosts. She six, her parents just died, and she's imagining things. That's it._'

While Rodney argued with himself, he stared down at the drawn woman. The clothes she wore were old. 1800's old. There was no way Madison would be able to know with such accuracy what women wore back then, let alone what a bodice was.

The hair on the back of his neck practically stood on end, the sound of Madison's pencil scratching against the paper absurdly loud. His stomach flopped nervously, suddenly getting the feeling that he was being watched.

'_Oh great, now I'm all creeped out! I'm never getting to sleep tonight. And I'm calling Elizabeth to—_'

The hand clamping down on his shoulder jolted the scientist out of his thoughts with an admittedly girlish scream. Sending the ice cream bowl flying, he spun around on the stool, nearly falling off, to come face to face with an extremely amused looking John Sheppard.

"Wow, someone's jumpy today. Rough night?"

Rodney tried to scowl, but ended up keeping his 'deer-in-the-head-lights' expression firmly in place.

"What the _hell_ is your problem, sneaking up on people like that?!"

Madison tugged on her Uncle's sleeve, glancing around embarrassedly.

"Uncle Mer, everyone's staring…"

With a whoosh of breath, Rodney finally scowled successfully as he turned to look at everyone.

And by everyone, he meant the old couple, the waitress, and the kid playing pinball.

"Get back to whatever you were doing!" he snapped without thinking. Years in a lab with incompetents did that to a guy.

Sliding onto the stool beside the heavily breathing Rodney, John smiled lazily and put his chin on his palm.

"So what's got you in a tizzy?"

Rodney slumped back down and huffed.

"I'm not in a tizzy. You just startled me, that's all."

"Uh-huh, tell that to the bowl you just murdered. I should arrest you," Sheppard said before languidly peering over the scientist's shoulder. "Hey there, little lady. Watcha got there?"

Madison smiled proudly, cheeks slightly aflame. She held up the drawing, practically thrusting it into John's nose.

Sheppard 'hmm'ed and nodded appreciatively.

"That's a great picture of Prudence, Maddie. Very cool."

"Thanks, Mr. Sheppard. I don't think Uncle Mer liked it that much."

Rodney spluttered, straightening up to defend his honour.

"What are you talking about? I said it was creative!"

Before Madison could retort, Rodney paused and did a double take, his blue eyes on John.

"Wait, what did you just say?"

John stared at him, a wary, 'is this a trick question?' expression on his face.

"That it was a cool picture?"

"No, no. Before that," Rodney insisted impatiently. "The woman. You called her Prudence."

"So?"

With an annoyed sigh, McKay rubbed the bridge of his nose and counted to ten.

"...SO, why did you call her that? How did you know it was her? And why would Madison draw her?"

Now looking thoroughly confused, John raised an eyebrow and answered, "Because that's her name, that's what she looks like, and how the heck should I know?"

A sudden sly smile crossed the detective's face.

"Maybe Madison's been seeing her. A ghostly Prudence Stone tucking the little girl in at night whilst her Uncle sleeps soundly in the next room..." He wiggled his fingers in Rodney's face, trying to hold back a laugh.

Slapping his hands away, Rodney scowled and snapped, "Oh, can it. I'm going to have enough trouble getting to sleep as it is. And for the fourth time, there's no such thing as ghosts!"

"Oh? And how do you know, Mr. Scientist?"

Rodney smiled challengingly.

"Fine, I'll prove it to you. Madison, you said she comes to you every night, right?" When he received and absent nod from the girl, he turned back to John. "So tonight, you come over at around eight, we tuck Madison in, sit back, and wait. And if this 'Prudence' doesn't show, which I highly assume will be the case, no one ever speaks about ghosts in my house again."

John grinned, intrigued.

"And if she _does_ show?"

"...you carry a gun, right?"

"I don't think you can shoot a ghost. I think you're supposed to use salt."

"Salt? What the hell would salt do? You should use—you know what? I'm not talking about this."

x x x

"I can't believe I'm talking about this."

It was eight pm on the dot, and both John and Rodney were perched on the end of Madison's bed. Much to Rodney's dismay, they were passing the time by arguing about the correct way to kill a ghost.

Madison didn't look too thrilled either.

"Uncle Mer, I really don't think this will work," she complained as she sat up and moodily pushed down the blankets. "I just want to go to sleep!"

"She's right," John said with a firm nod.

Rodney sighed with relief.

"Great. Now that we've all decided that ghosts don't exist, let's—"

"It'll never come with us in the room," interrupted John while Madison nodded eagerly. She just wanted the two adults to get the heck out of her room. "We'll have to stake it out. Maybe leave the door open a crack or something while we wait in the hall."

"What? That's ridiculous!"

"I think it's a great idea," John defended with a pout, his gravity defying hair seemingly deflating.

"Oh, for—stop pouting. You're a grown adult. And a cop."

"Uncle Mer," Madison whined loudly, flopping back and stuffing the pillow over her face. "I juft wanf to fo to fleep!"

"So would I," Rodney muttered before standing up. "Alright, we'll leave. I have some work to do anyways." Leaning down, he gave the top of Madison's frizzy hair a pet before saying his goodnights and heading out into the hall.

When he realized John hadn't followed, he stalked back into the room and grabbed him by the sleeve.

"Let's go, Detective. There's nothing to see here. Go back to your homes and all that."

John sighed and let Rodney drag him out of the room, though he did manage to leave the door open a few inches.

"Fine. I get it. You're too scared." He shrugged, stuffing his hands into his jean pockets. "I don't blame you. Well, I'll just be heading home now."

Rodney watched as John wandered over to the large staircase down the hall, his eyes narrowed.

"I know what you're doing," he stated, slowly following the cop. "You're lighting a fire under my ego."

Sheppard paused and glanced over his shoulder with a bit of a grin.

"Is it working?"

"...yes," came the muttered reluctant reply.

"Great!"

Bounding up the few steps he managed to make it down, John strode over to Rodney, grabbed his arm, and started off down the hall back the way they came.

"You know, for a cop you sure are eager to get into trouble," Rodney said wryly.

"So you admit that something's going to happen?"

"I admit nothing."

x x x

After finding a suitable hiding spot--a small alcove just down the hall--, Rodney and John settled down on the cold hardwood flooring to wait.

And wait.

"Shift over. Your elbow's jabbing me in the side."

"How do you know that's my elbow?"

"...you're an idiot, Sheppard."

Ten long minutes passed in silence, the occasional sigh from Rodney telling John that he was still awake.

"So, why do you think there's this random alcove here?" asked John, eyeing their small space. "Who puts a gaping area in the middle of a wall?"

"I would hardly call this 'gaping'," Rodney muttered, his knees pressed to his chest. "And how the hell would I know? Do I look like an architect?"

John waited patiently, knowing the scientist had an answer in there somewhere.

After a few minutes, Rodney predictably huffed and said, "It probably held a statue or bust or something."

"Suit of armour?"

"If you like."

"You're rather crabby. Well, more then usual."

Rodney scowled at John through the darkness.

"Of course I'm crabby! I'm staking out my niece's room for a ghost! Not to mention having to be stuck in this stupid tiny space with a crazy-haired cop!"

"Detective."

"Whatever!"

Another pause.

"...chicks dig my hair."

"Argh!"

x x x

"...so Madison seems to be a bit happier."

"Uh-huh."

"Has she met any other kids?"

"No."

"Well, aren't you a Chatty Cathy."

"Shut up."

x x x

"...I spy with my little eye—"

"Finish that sentence and I'll stab you with your own elbow."

x x x

"...I don't call my brother or father very often. Though to be honest, I don't really miss them all that much."

"I'm not having a heart-to-heart with you."

A pause.

"...something that is blue?—Ow!"

x x x

"...I have this small problem with claustrophobia."

"Well, that explains a few things."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

x x x

"So, how did your sister and brother-in-law die?"

John expected only silence, so he was surprised when Rodney's voice cropped up from the darkness a few minutes later.

"Caleb died when Madison was three. Terminal illness. She doesn't remember him all that much."

Rodney shifted around, stretching out a leg until his foot hit the wall opposite him beside John's arm.

"Jeannie, my sister, was in a car accident a few months ago. Some idiot ran a red. Side on collision. She died instantly." There was a pause before he added, "I was appointed Madison's guardian, should anything happen to Jeannie."

"I'm sorry."

"Yeah."

x x x

"...I'm divorced."

A snort came from Rodney's vicinity.

"Who the hell would divorce you?"

"What makes you think she was the one who—" John paused before saying with a large grin, "Was that a compliment?"

"...no more talking."

x x x

"...Rodney?"

A sigh.

"What?"

"It's almost midnight. Maybe we should pack it in."

"Does that mean I win?"

"Yeah, yeah. No more talking about ghosts."

With some difficulty, John stood and stretched his arms above his head, every bone imaginable cracking loudly.

"Eugh." Rodney's nose scrunched up. "Do you _know_ how bad that was for our backs? I'm going to be popping Advil for days!"

"Complain, complain, McKay. Is that all you do?"

Reaching down, Sheppard grabbed the scientist's arms and hauled him up.

"You've known me for two weeks now. What do you think?"

John smiled lazily and shrugged, green eyes finding Rodney's baby blues easily.

"I don't know, McKay. You're a hard guy to figure out."

"That's what everyone says."

After sighing exaggeratedly, Rodney turned on the spot and started trekking off towards Madison's room for one final check before turning in himself.

"McKay?"

"Oh, for—_what_?"

A hand on his upper arm stopped him, fingers curled firmly around the limb.

He turned to find John gazing behind them with a perplexed look.

"What's the matter?" Rodney asked, eyes darting around. "What? What?"

"Notice anything weird?"

"Aside from everything?"

John's hard stare made the man sigh and look around suspiciously. Everything looked normal. Well, as normal as the house could get. They were at the end of the hall, staring back at where they had come from, the small alcove just barely visible. The hall seemed to stretch on forever.

Literally.

It finally dawned on Rodney.

"Where—where'd Madison's door go?" In fact, where did any of the doors go?

Vertigo crashed down on him, sending the scientist tilting into the wall.

John shook his head, blinking rapidly as he tried to focus on one spot instead of the constantly lengthening hall. An odd groaning sound echoed, almost as if the wood was screaming in protest.

"This isn't normal," he mumbled out, absently dropping a hand to his hip where his sidearm would have been.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Rodney slurred before he thumped to the floor, down for the count.

John managed to take a step before dropping like a sack of bricks. In his mind's eye, he could still see the door at the end of the hall growing smaller and smaller as it got further away. Just as nausea started to squirm in his stomach, relief in the form of unconsciousness took over and everything went black.

x x x

A/N: well, I kinda made myself nauseous with that last bit by just picturing it. Sad, I know, haha.

Apologies that this took so long to get out! And thank you to everyone who reviewed, faved, and story-alerted this fic!


	5. V

A/N: Hey, all! Your reviews and alerts give me the warm fuzzies when I wake up in the morning to check my mail =D Cookies for all!

A/N2: Wow, maybe I should add a warning to this fic =P "May Cause Nausea". Quite a lot of you got a little queasy. Sorry, guys! I'll put a warning at the beginnings of chapters with more of that. Promise =)

A/N3: Happy Christmas/Kwanza/Solstice/Hanukah/*insert holiday of choice here*! I hope everyone got what they wanted from Santa. What was on everyone's list? Some Stargate merch I hope =P I got my disappearing Puddle Jumper mug, just like I wanted. I just about ripped it out of its bubble wrap, threw some hot water in it and squealed, 'IT'S CLOAKING!' Needless to say, I was declared a geek and everyone laughed…at me =P Share your stories!

STATUS: TBC

RATING: K+

SUMMARY: AU and SLASH McKayxSheppard A Halloween fic! Rodney and his niece Madison buy a new (but old and frankly falling down) house in a small town (cliché enough yet?), which the locals believe to be haunted. Which it most definitely is. Inspired by Rose Red.

SPOILERS: Since it's AU, nothing.

WARNINGS: A bit of swearing. Our boys have quite the potty mouth sometimes.

DISCLAIMER: Everything Stargate Atlantis related is property of MGM. I own nothing.

x x x

"_Come on now, lad. Time to awaken._"

A quiet groan escaped from John as he rolled onto his side. The cold hardwood dug into his shoulder and head, rather rudely letting him know that he was still on the floor.

"_She didn't mean anything by it. Well…not really._"

"Rodney?" he croaked out.

"_No._"

There was a brief cold touch to his temple before the nausea in his stomach disappeared. Warily, he opened his eyes and rolled onto his back.

"Hello?"

In all honesty, John wasn't surprised when he didn't receive a reply.

'_McKay is right. I _do_ look for trouble,_' he thought dryly. He was a cop, not a ghost hunter. Though even Rodney had to admit that what had happened was pretty cool. If that didn't prove Prudence was real, then he didn't know what did.

"So, does that mean I win? Rodney?"

Sitting up quickly, blood rushing from his head, he peered around to spot Rodney on the floor a couple feet away from him.

Beside Madison's door.

"Oh, geez…"

Once he was sure he wasn't going to keel over, John climbed to his feet and jogged over to the unconscious scientist.

"Eugh…what the—what the hell happened?" Rodney groaned out in a high pitched and offended voice, his face pressing against the wood.

Not so unconscious then.

"I think Prudence just kicked our asses," John answered as he rolled Rodney carefully onto his back. "Alright there, buddy?"

"What? No, of course I'm not alright!" he snapped while smacking away John's hands. "And Prudence did _not_ kick our asses because she's not a ghost!"

John rolled his eyes and sat back to let Rodney struggle to sit up on his own.

"How can you say that after what happened?"

"Nothing happened. It was…my hypoglycaemia, that's all. I haven't eaten in a while. I passed out."

"Then what happened to me?" came the challenged question.

"…sympathy pain?"

"Nice try."

With an annoyed sigh, Rodney climbed to his feet and smoothed down his shirt.

"Look, Sheppard. I don't know what happened. I'm sure there's a logical—"

"I told you, it was Prudence."

"And I told you: logical. There was nothing supernatural. It was just—"

"Why can't you just admit there's a possibility?" stressed John.

"Because I'm a scientist!" Rodney practically snarled out, arms flailing. "I'm a scientist, and scientists don't believe in ghosts or voodoo or any of that crap! It's just not possible!"

"Well, Madison seems to think it is."

Rodney rolled his eyes.

"Yes, well Madison is six. She doesn't know what she's talking about."

A soft creaking sound interrupted. Both adults looked over to the door beside them, catching Madison's face in the open crack.

Rodney blinked before hastily waving his hands.

"No, Maddie. I didn't mean it like that. I just—"

Before he could continue, the door shut without a word.

The man sighed out, arms dropping to his sides as he practically wilted like an old flower.

"Great, now look what you made me do…"

Taking pity, John gave Rodney's shoulder a pat and suggested, "Come on, walk me to the door."

"Fine."

Together they walked down the hallway to stop at the top of the large staircase. Below them, the stairs stretched out into the darkness, the front door just barely visible.

They paused.

"Err…you know," started Rodney awkwardly, although he was aiming for casual. "It's pretty late. And you have to walk home…"

"Oh yeah," agreed John, catching on right away. "And it's dark. Don't want to walk into a sign post or anything…"

"No, no of course not."

Another pause.

"I have lots of space—"

"That sounds great."

After what happened, both of them knew that being alone was the last thing on their minds. And there was no way John would be leaving Rodney and Madison alone tonight.

x x x

She stared down at the rather obnoxious man as he slept. Her nose was slightly scrunched, a quiet 'tsk'ing sound escaping through gently parted lips.

She didn't know who the man was, but she knew he most definitely wasn't welcome here. His companion had to go as well, but she did hold a small soft spot for him. He did look like her Edward, after all.

With one last look at the one who had invaded her home, she turned and drifted silently through the wall and out into the hallway. She paused, listening. The other one was asleep in the next room over, though she could feel unease coming from him. The poor man was probably still rattled from earlier on.

She hadn't meant to go as far as she had, but it was no matter. The young one was fine.

The woman sighed softly as she glided into the young girl's room. Sitting down on the edge of the bed, she placed a hand on the blonde one's shoulder.

"I thought I would never see you again, my darling Alice."

Her fingers gently ran through the golden strands.

"Soon we will be together again. A family."

She smiled.

"Soon."

x x x

Rodney woke up the next morning with a feeling of surprise. And no, it wasn't because he realized he had actually fallen asleep.

It was because he could smell coffee.

He cracked his eyes open and sat up, sleepily running a hand through his short hair.

'_I don't have a timer on my coffee maker…_' And he doubted Madison had figured out how to work it just because she wanted a good cuppa.

"Maybe the ghost of Prudence turned it on," he muttered with a chuckle before sobering. Perhaps he should he ease up on the ghost jokes.

Flinging back the heavy comforter, Rodney swung his legs off the bed and stood slowly. He cracked his back with a groan, fully intending to send Sheppard a bill for his chiropractor.

Sheppard.

Was he still here?

Still only half awake, Rodney stumbled around the large bedroom, pulling on his blue robe and stepping into his slippers. After making sure he was at least semi-presentable, he headed out into the hall, down the stairs, and into the kitchen where he stopped in his tracks.

"Wuh?" he mumbled out in confusion. Was he still dreaming?

John was standing at the stove wearing Rodney's old green apron that had a faded crest of Hyrule on it from his university days. In his right hand he held a spatula while the other shook the pan, skilfully flipping the pieces of French toast. Off to the side was a steaming bowl of scrambled eggs and the bubbling coffee maker.

Finally noticing Rodney, John glanced over his shoulder and said with a grin, "He finally awakens. I thought I would have to throw snow down your back."

Rodney blinked hazily.

"Snow?"

Without warning, John yanked back the curtains that blocked the backyard. Rodney yelped and threw his arms over his eyes, the bright white light filling the kitchen.

Resisting the urge to hiss and duck behind the counter, the scientist finally lowered his arms and sent a disgruntled look to Sheppard.

"Are you _trying_ to blind me?!"

John grinned goofily.

"We get a lot of snow here."

"Really? I didn't notice," came the scathing reply. "Coffee."

John snickered and went back to cooking as Rodney shuffled across the floor and over to his precious coffee maker.

Once he had half a cup in him, Rodney sat down at the table and looked over at John.

"You're still here," he stated.

"Obviously. I have to go to work soon though."

"And you're cooking."

"…do you always state the obvious when you wake up?"

A few moments later, a steaming plate of French toast and eggs were sitting in front of Rodney, John on the other side of the table with his own.

Rodney stared.

John stared back.

"What?" he asked with raised eyebrows.

"You made breakfast." Rodney paused. "After my house nearly killed you."

John snorted and shook his head.

"Doesn't mean I can't hang around for a bit," he said, spearing a piece of egg. "Besides, I'm not the type to leave unannounced after spending the night." He gave his eyebrows a wiggle.

"Idiot."

Rodney didn't understand it, but he found that the next twenty minutes that passed while they ate was actually…pleasant. Oddly enough, he and John had a lot in common, including their love of Star Trek. Now _there_ was something Rodney didn't expect of the ridiculously-haired cop.

"Alright, I gotta jet," John said with a goofy grin, knowing full-well that Rodney would get it since they had talked about his love affair with anything that flew.

As expected, Rodney rolled his eyes.

"Don't quit your day job. Not that you're ever there."

"Har, har."

Once John's dishes were in the sink, both men headed out of the kitchen, down the hall, and into the large foyer. The front door didn't seem as menacing in the day light as it had the night before.

John pulled on his dark coat and zipped it up before opening the door. Bright light poured into the front hall, a small flurry of snow flakes blowing in.

"Oh, nice. Get snow all over my carpet." Rodney muttered.

"You mean the big bath towel?"

"…I have to go shopping—you know what? Just get out now. I have work to do."

John smiled, finding Rodney's morning grumpiness just far too amusing.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm going. But if you're not busy later, swing by the diner for dinner. We'll meet up."

The scientist blinked, perking slightly.

Had John just asked him out?

"And bring Maddie. There's someone I want her to meet."

Oh.

Noticing Rodney's small hunch of the shoulders, John added teasingly, "You know, to keep her busy. So _we_ can eat. Together."

Rodney perked back up, a smile sliding onto his face.

"That sounds good. I'll, uhh…I'll meet you there. Later. For dinner."

John chuckled and nodded, backing out onto the porch. His patrol car was a little snowed in, but he would be able to get it out no problem.

"See yeah, _Rod_ney."

As he watched the detective leave, Rodney couldn't help but think just how ridiculous his name sounded coming from that quasi-Texan drawl of Sheppard's.

"It's not cute," he muttered, shutting the door. "It's not cute. It's not cute. It's not—oh, hey." After brushing stray snow flakes off his shirt, he turned to find Madison wandering down the stairs, her blonde hair in a ruffle. "Morning, Maddie."

The girl attempted a smile, though failed quite spectacularly; a mix of still being half-asleep and mad at her uncle.

"Morning," came her succinct reply.

There was an awkward pause before Rodney thrust a thumb over his shoulder, eyes slightly wide with anxiousness.

"Sheppard made breakfast. French toast and eggs. Hungry?"

"Can I skip the eggs?" At her uncle's nod, Madison agreed and they both headed into the kitchen.

x x x

A/N: Yes, yes I know this chapter was on the boring and short side. Trust me, I had more to write but I found that I just kept going, so I cut the chapter in half, haha. You'll thank me in time, my children. Next update will have lots of stuff happening.

You know you love me =P


	6. VI

A/N: Hey, ladies and gents! I just watched the episode 'Vegas' and I must say, it was all I dreamed it would be, haha. The ending was sad, but it fit. *sigh* oh, the plot bunnies I have now. I think it was my favourite episode to date.

A/N2: The reason for the lateness of the chapter is indeed a sad and incredibly frustrating one. Remember how I said I chopped the last chapter into two parts? Well, 'smart' me over here posted the first part whilst NOT saving the second half. So I had to start again. You can imagine my squeaks of dismay when I went to continue the next day and found it 'mysteriously' missing. Boohiss.

EDIT: A/N3: Just saw 'Enemy at the Gate'. Needless to say, a box of Kleenex was used quite frequently. I was a little disappointed that we didn't get to see John and Rodney's 'goodbye' when John was called to go to Earth, but hey, that leaves more to the imagination, haha. I feel a tag coming on.

STATUS: TBC

RATING: K+

SUMMARY: AU and SLASH McKayxSheppard A Halloween fic! Rodney and his niece Madison buy a new (but old and frankly falling down) house in a small town (cliché enough yet?), which the locals believe to be haunted. Which it most definitely is. Inspired by Rose Red.

SPOILERS: Since it's AU, nothing.

WARNINGS: A bit of swearing. Our boys have quite the potty mouth sometimes.

DISCLAIMER: Everything Stargate Atlantis related is property of MGM. I own nothing.

x x x

**Song for this chapter: Eyes on Fire by Blue Foundation**

x x x

"Uncle Mer? Do you think they have a library here?"

Rodney glanced over his shoulder as he stood at the sink, plate in one hand and a sponge in the other.

"I would assume so," he answered as his niece munched away on the food John Sheppard had whipped up only twenty or so minutes before. The scientist was still boggled by that.

Well, that _and_ the 'date' later.

"They can't be that backward, can they?" he added before depositing the plate on the drip rack. "Why do you want to go to the library?"

Finishing up her food, Madison slid off the chair and headed over to her uncle.

"I've read all the books I brought with me. I need new ones," came her answer as she handed over the empty plate.

"What about my—"

"Your physics books are a bit…big, Uncle Mer."

Rodney resisted the urge to smile, instead opting to roll his eyes and take her plate.

"Never too early to start learning about physics…but I'll take you once I'm finished up here and throw on some clothes." He eyed Madison's Spongebob nightgown with an eyebrow raised teasingly. "You're not going like that, are you?"

A ghost of a grin appeared on Maddie's face.

"Maybe."

A giggle gave her away before she jogged out of the kitchen and down the hall, presumably to throw on something without a cartoon character on it.

But you never knew.

Once the girl was out of earshot, Rodney chuckled and shook his head. Things had been getting better between the two, slowly but surely. He wasn't the ideal parent, and probably never would be, but he would be damned if he didn't try his best. And lucky for him, Madison seemed to acknowledge his attempt and counter with one of her own.

Although it helped that Sheppard seemed to be a bridge between the two.

Finishing up the dishes, Rodney dried his hands and headed out of the kitchen with a rather proud smile on his face.

'_Look at me, I'm being all domestic!'_

Not that he would start reading Chicken Soup for the Soul or anything like that.

Once he reached his room, he had a quick shower and threw on some clothes. Oddly enough, he was looking forward to a relaxing library trip with Madison.

Running a hand through his hair, Rodney bounded over to the dresser for his keys, only to find them missing.

"What…Madison!" he called loudly. "Have you seen the house key?"

A negative was called back.

With a disgruntled sigh, he started rummaging around on the dresser top, shoving connector cords, books, and extra laptop batteries to the side. A clinking sound halted his actions.

"Great…"

Peering over the back of the bureau, Rodney was just able to make out the soft glint of the scuffed up golden coloured key. Another sigh later and he was on his hands and knees, cheek pressed up against the corner of the dresser as he stretched his arm as far as he could between the back and the wall, fingers splayed.

"Argh…come on," he groaned, voice muffled.

The ends of his fingers just barely brushed the cool metal, but eventually the scientist was forced to concede.

He sat back, one cheek red with a bit of a long indent as he rubbed his shoulder, highly disgruntled. With narrowed eyes, he glared at the key.

"Stupid thing…lodged behind a dresser…should have made a copy," he muttered, starting to lean forward again for a second round.

He froze when the key twitched.

Nothing happened for several more moments.

Just when he was about to lean in again, blue eyes locked on the piece of metal, the key promptly slid a good two inches across the hardwood to fall through a crack between the wall and the floor. He heard it hit the floor below, slide a few more inches, and then fall down a vent with a clink.

Rodney stared, mouth agape. A bit of a high pitched squawk escaped.

"Wha—don't ask. Just…don't ask," he said with wide eyes. "Maybe gravity's acting up. Maybe there's a magnet somewhere. Maybe the freakin' room tilted. Just _don't ask._"

So much for being a scientist. Logical what-now?

Using the corner of the dresser as leverage, Rodney heaved himself up off the ground and cracked his back with a groan.

"Great. Not only do I have to venture into the Basement of Doom for some stupid over-excited key, but my back is going to give out any day now."

Heading out into the hallway, he passed by Madison's room to tell her that he was going to the basement for something, so to wait an extra couple minutes. The girl gave her uncle a curious look before shrugging in a, 'good luck with that' kind of way.

Rodney pursed his lips, almost tempted to go without the key and leave the front door wide open. Anything was better then going into the basement.

x x x

"I hate this basement…"

Rodney scowled to himself as he stood in front of the old, rickety door at the bottom of the stairs. He jiggled back and forth on his feet, silently gathering up his courage. It was just a basement, after all. Granted, all basements were creepy and this one was definitely off the Scare Scale, but still. Just a basement. Even the contractors ventured down to store any pieces of furniture that were too big to go anywhere else. Not to mention their work benches and tools.

And if a construction worker could go in there, so could Rodney.

"Alright, McKay. Pull it together. Grab the key and get out."

Rodney nodded to himself before putting the hand on the knob and turning. He rolled his eyes when the heavy, glass knob came off in his hand before just pushing at the door. It swung open with a creak, stale air drifting out.

Tossing the knob to the side onto a pile of mulch bags, the scientist walked slowly into the dark basement. Since the windows were so high up and small, only pale beams of light streamed in, showing patches of concrete flooring.

Hastily, Rodney searched for a light switch. Finding one near the closest work bench, he flipped the toggle and let out a small sigh of relief. Light filled the room, four bare bulbs hanging from the ceiling.

"Alright," he announced to himself, baby blues gazing around. "Where did that key get to…"

He raised his gaze to the ceiling and easily found the exposed vent. At one time or another, a heater had been placed in the corner and attached to the vent, but it had long since been removed. A newer model now sat on the opposite side of the basement, humming quietly away.

Standing under the vent, Rodney cast his gaze to the ground and started his search. It didn't take long for him to spot the missing key sitting on the dusty cement. With a sigh, he squatted down to grab it.

Just as he was reaching out, something caught his eye. Inside a deep crack between the wall and cement was a crinkled piece of paper. With a raised eyebrow, Rodney gently tugged the paper out of the crack and unfolded it.

"Huh…"

The paper turned out to be an old crinkled black and white photo of three people; a man, a woman, and a child who looked no older then Madison. He turned the picture to read the back:

_Edward and Prudence Stone, and their darling daughter Alice. October, 1927._

With knew interest, Rodney flipped the picture back to the front, eyes flickering over the small family. Prudence looked like any other well-off woman of the 1920s; proper yet humble, her dark hair pulled into a tidy bun, expression soft but her eyes as sharp as tacks. Alice was a precious blonde thing—not that Rodney would admit that to anyone—not smiling but obviously eager to run off and play. And Edward, Edward looked to be the ultimate gentleman. With his dark hair and equally dark eyes, he seemed just as proper as his wife. Yet there was a sparkle of _something_ behind those eyes of his; something soft and playful. Something rather familiar…

"Uncle Mer? Are you ready to go yet?"

Rodney nearly jumped out of his skin when Maddie suddenly called down to him from the top of the stairs.

"Geez, Madison! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?!" he gasped, heaving himself to his feet and rubbing his chest.

Madison chuckled as she jiggled back and forth on her feet, eager to get going.

"Come on, Uncle Mer! Let's go already!"

"Alright, alright…go get your shoes on."

As his niece bounded off, Rodney looked back down at the picture. Three sets of eyes bore into his, silently speaking. After a moment, he folded the picture carefully and tucked it into his back pocket.

Just before he headed for the stairs, he grabbed the key.

x x x

"So, what area did you want to hit first?"

"The kids section!"

Rodney blanched as Madison grabbed his hand to tug him down the rows and rows of books. He was even sad to see the cheesy Fantasy section fly by. Anything was better then the _kids_ section…

"Look! A table!"

"Great…"

Half an hour later, Rodney's head thunked down onto the plastic table top, earning him a scandalized look from the grey-haired and frightening librarian. Madison peered at him from over top her beat up copy of Dragonology—_'Look, Uncle Mer! It comes with a hanging model!'_—to send him an absent look.

He knew that expression all to well. It was a definite McKay 'I'm too busy doing something important, go away!' look.

Taking advantage of her distractedness, Rodney pushed back his mini pink plastic chair and said, "I'm going to grab a computer. You'll be okay here for a few minutes?"

Madison nodded, obviously not really listening, before she disappeared behind the large, hardcover book.

_Freedom!_

Even though he was tempted to book it over to he science section—not that he would find anything _remotely_ of interest—Rodney headed for the nearest computer and sat down in the cushioned seat. He double clicked on the question mark icon and the search engine popped up.

Without pausing, he typed in '_Edward, Prudence Stone_'. Nearly one hundred hits. The scientist scowled slightly, but clicked on the first link. At least it was an e-resource. For a few minutes, he scrolled through the many pages, the soft glow of the monitor flickering over his face. It seemed to be a biography, complete with photos of the manor and family, along with a complete genealogy chart and everything. As the minutes past, Rodney became lost in reading.

Almost an hour passed before he reached the last page, mind reeling yet satisfied with the information he had learned. Rodney sat back in the chair, shoulders slouched. It was a rather sad story, but certainly interesting…

He suddenly straightened up, nose inches from the monitor. _What the…_Fingers gripped the mouse as he read over the genealogy chart for a second time. There had to be some sort of mistake…

Ten minutes later, he and Madison were heading out of the library and into the cold, a printed out copy of the family tree clutched in the scientist's hand.

x x x

"You lied to me."

John Sheppard quickly leaned back against the booth when a hand suddenly slammed down onto the diner table top, a piece of paper under the sprawled fingers.

He looked up to find Rodney scowling down at him, not even noticing the brown haired kid sitting across from the detective.

Without speaking, John glanced down at the paper. He stared at it for a moment before saying mildly, "Rodney, this is Jinto. He's the kid I wanted Madison to meet."

Blinking confusedly, Rodney straightened up and looked over at the seven year old. Both this 'Jinto' and Madison looked thoroughly confused.

"Oh," came Rodney's reply, baby blues slightly wide. "Err…hi there. Madison, why don't you and him go do something?"

Madison nodded, holding out a hand.

"Quarters, Uncle Mer?"

"Sure, sure…"

Moments later, John and Rodney were alone in the booth, the sounds of the pinball machine dinging away behind them.

"So, how was your day?" John drawled as he slouched back, hand curved loosely around his cup of coffee.

Rodney scowled, giving the paper a noisy shake.

"It was pretty interesting." Shake, shake. "I found out a couple things." Shake, shake. "Like the fact that you lied to me!" A long and raucous shake completed his sentence.

With a roll of his eyes, John snatched the paper and flattened it down on the table.

"I didn't lie to you. I just…withheld information. Perfectly innocent."

"Innocent?" Rodney squawked. "For all I know, you're some creepy stalker wanting to get his manor back!"

"I don't want the manor! Look…" John sighed and took a sip of his lukewarm coffee. This was_ not_ how he intended dinner to go. "You're right. I didn't tell you that my great-grandfather was Edward Stone's brother. Why? Because people normally get freaked out by it, that's why." His dark eyes flickered over Rodney, lips tugging into a teasing smile. "Besides, I didn't think you would figure it out. Stupid of me."

"Incredibly."

John chuckled and looked back down at the paper, a semi-thoughtful look on his face.

"Why did you take your mother's maiden name?" Rodney asked. With a slight smirk, he added, "Then again, John Stone sounds a bit too dramatic…even if you _are_ a cop."

"Detective," John corrected out of habit, smiling. "Long story short, I made some decisions that my father wasn't too happy with. He kicked me out when I was nineteen and I took my mother's last name."

"Out of spite?"

"Stone's too dramatic." John echoed with a grin. "Made me sound like a soap opera character."

Despite his hardest to keep scowling, Rodney shook his head to hide an amused smile.

"Idiot."

"Does that mean I'm forgiven?"

There was a pause, Rodney's face sliding into a hesitant but suspicious look.

"That depends. Are you only talking to me and being nice to Madison because of the house?"

His expression fell as John took on a small look of guilt and shame.

"Yes."

x x x

A/N: Finally, another chapter under my belt. For multiple reasons it was the hardest one to write so far. Whew! I'm trying to get all of the info out of the way to make room for the ghostly action (and some fluff in chapter seven!), so stick with me, folks. The boring chapters will soon be over with.

reviews!

Fitzroy: Now you know why Hottie Cop looks like Edward =D (like you didn't know already!) I know I say this every time we talk, but thanks for always reviewing, mah daahling!

ShaViva: haha, a way to a grumpy scientist's heart is through cooking breakfast (with lots of coffee!) And geeks totally rule! I bet that mug of yours is getting a lot of usage =D I know mine certainly is. Thanks for the review!

Spacemonkeygal: (I adore your penname, hehe!) Aw, can't you just picture John cooking for a sleepy Rodney? I wouldn't have been surprised if hearts started popping up to float in the air =) And I'm glad I wasn't the only squealer over cloaking mugs *g* Thanks for reviewing!

RodneyIsGodney: (your _penname_ is Godney! Hehe!) I was hoping someone would catch the blue robe! =D He looked so cozy in it that I just had to bring it back. Thanks for the review!

Thanks to everyone! Apologies if I missed someone.

Keep reading, my lovelies!

*points to review button*


	7. VII

A/N: Wowza! Thanks for all the reviews and favs, guys! I couldn't stop smiling when I opened my e-mail the next day to find a bunch of them =D They keep me going =)

A/N2: I was feeling all artsy (aka. bored) and felt like doing a 'title pic' of sorts for this fic. A teeny, squashy version is my profile pic, but a larger one can be found on my Deviant Art page (along with a few other SGA pieces). The link is on my profile.

A/N3: I have absolutely no knowledge of police procedure, so if there's a cop out there reading this, please don't hesitate to point out how wrong I am =P

STATUS: TBC

RATING: K+

SUMMARY: AU and SLASH McKayxSheppard A Halloween fic! Rodney and his niece Madison buy a new (but old and frankly falling down) house in a small town (cliché enough yet?), which the locals believe to be haunted. Which it most definitely is. Inspired by Rose Red.

SPOILERS: Since it's AU, nothing.

WARNINGS: A bit of swearing. Our boys have quite the potty mouth sometimes.

DISCLAIMER: Everything Stargate Atlantis related is property of MGM. I own nothing.

x x x

**Song for this chapter: Full Moon by Black Ghosts**

x x x

Last time:

"_Does that mean I'm forgiven?"_

_There was a pause, Rodney's face sliding into a hesitant but suspicious look._

"_That depends. Are you only talking to me and being nice to Madison because of the house?"_

_His expression fell as John took on a small look of guilt and shame._

"_Yes."_

x x x

"Yes."

Rodney's heart dropped to his feet, hurt flickering across his face before he threw up a shield in the form of a scowl.

"Well, at least you're honest," he snapped before pushing out of the booth and standing.

John quickly leaned forward and grabbed his wrist.

"Wait, Rodney—that's not what I meant. Well, actually yes it is, but…would you just sit back down? I'll explain everything."

Rodney stared down at John suspiciously as the detective blinked lazily at him. There was an unfamiliar hardness behind John's soft eyes that startled Rodney into actually considering the man's offer.

But did he want to hear the truth?

Ignorance was bliss after all.

x x x

"_By, Mom!"_

_The young, blonde haired girl waved to her mother as she climbed onto her bike, the multicoloured strings hanging from her handle bars blowing in the breeze._

"_By, Emily! Have a good day at school!"_

_Her mother smiled, returning the wave from the porch. It was her daughter's first time going to school on her own. She knew she had no reason to worry about the girl, the school was only a few blocks away after all. _

_Josephine Stern watched her darling Emily peddle off down the street before finally turning the corner and disappearing from view._

_With a heavy heart, she turned away and headed back into the house to seek out her husband. Surely he would tell her she was worrying needlessly._

_But a mother's instinct should never be ignored…_

x x x

"So what happened to her?" Rodney asked, baby blues fixed on John's dark gaze.

"That's the thing," John replied with a shrug as he leaned back against the booth. "Nobody knows. She just disappeared."

"And that was the first one?"

John nodded, face unusually grim.

There was silence for a few long seconds before Rodney finally shook his head and straightened up.

"Wait, how do you know this again?"

"I already told you," complained the detective with a exasperated sigh.

"Well tell me again!" Rodney insisted, snapping his fingers against the table top.

Behind them, the pinball machine dinged and bleeped away, a constant reassurance that Madison and Jinto were close by.

John leaned forward, his elbow digging into the table as he placed his chin on his hand.

"Like I said, nearly seven kids have gone missing over the past seventy years or so. Normally, the Missing Kids unit would just pack up the files and tuck them away after a certain amount of time without the child showing up—"

"—which they did," Rodney interrupted.

"—which they did, yes. But—"

"—you noticed—"

"_Rod_ney! Who's telling the story here?"

Rodney waved his hands and leaned back.

"Sorry, sorry! Continue…"

"Right. So, seven kids in seventy years. Missing Kids packed away the files. Then I—_what_, Rodney?"

The scientist opened and closed his mouth a few times before scowling at John.

"Hey, I'm just trying to keep up here. Don't blame me if I have questions."

John smirked slightly.

"What happened to being a genius?"

"Okay, you know what—"

"What's your question, Rodney?" John asked with a sigh.

"Hmph. I was just going to point out the fact that this is a small town. Children probably never go missing here. Wouldn't Missing Kids keep the files constantly on tap because it's so unusual?"

"You'd think so, wouldn't you? But when I said that there was no trace of them, there was _no_ trace of them. Whatsoever. No leads, no nothing. They had no choice but to give up searching."

John slouched back against the booth, left hand curved around a new steaming cup of coffee. He took a sip before adding, "Emily Stern was the first girl to go missing back in 1940 or so. They searched way past the official allotted time, but found nothing. Then, 1950 rolled in."

"Another one went missing," Rodney guessed, expression caught somewhere between curiosity and wariness. Ever since the conversation had started, he had kept shooting Madison glances every five minutes or so, despite the fact that they could hear the pinball machine. John knew Rodney probably didn't even notice he was doing it.

"Yeah. Jessica Parker," John answered, nodding. "1960 was Rachel Hemingway, 1970 was Christina Lucas, 1980 was—"

"I get it," Rodney interrupted again, this time looking slightly sick. "Every ten years or so, a child goes missing."

"A girl. Never a boy."

Silence fell once more. Rodney took the pause in conversation to give John a hopefully subtle look over. The detective seemed to be in his usual lazy and slouchy mood, but Rodney could tell there was a tenseness to him. Like he was ready to spring up at any given moment. Despite the fact that the 'missing kids' debacle happened before he was even on the force—or at least, a large influence in it—he seemed to take the cases personally.

Rodney's eyes narrowed.

"What aren't you telling me?"

John's grim gaze met Rodney's after a beat of hesitation.

"The reason I first talked to you. Why I'm interested in the house."

Rodney scowled. So there _had_ been a reason. It seemed there always was when people talked to him.

Why would John Sheppard be any different?

As if hearing his thoughts, John straightened up and said insistently, "The _first _time I talked to you. After that, I—"

"Just explain," Rodney interrupted for the fourth time that night, a displeased look on his face. He was already writing an angry e-mail to Elizabeth in his head.

John frowned slightly, clearly wanting to smack Rodney and make the scientist listen, but instead he just shrugged and leaned back once again.

"In 1990, another child went missing. A girl. Her name was Jane Sumner. 'Janey' to her father…"

x x x

"_Sheppard, another kid's gone missing. You're on."_

_Blinking, John raised an eyebrow and leaned back in the old leather chair, springs creaking. He knew he should be grateful for a case, but there were other guys around here with nothing better to do. Granted, he was one of them._

"_Why me?" he asked, staring up at his supervisor. _

_Woolsey rolled his eyes, though without the usual amount of superiority it usually held._

"_God help us, you're the only one not on a lunch break. Lucky you." There was a pause before he added grimly, "It was Jane Sumner. She went missing nearly ten minutes ago. Detective Sumner's wife called it in. Marshall is already on his way over to the house." _

_John frowned. As much as he disliked Detective Marshall Sumner, he never wished for the man's child to go missing…_

"_What's the address?" _

_Five minutes later, John was pulling up beside the curb outside Sumner's house. As he climbed out of the car, he spotted the detective holding his sobbing wife tightly, the man's face screwed up in a hardened frown._

_John could see right through it. And it was the first time he ever thought of Sumner as human. _

"_Sir…" he greeted neutrally once he crossed the grass and made it over to the pair._

_Sumner's frown deepened when he realized who the station had sent._

_John braced himself for a ranting, but all he received was,_

"_Don't screw this up, Sheppard. That's my daughter out there."_

_In other words, "I trust you. Don't fail me."_

x x x

"…I searched—_we_ searched for months. Once it hit the one year mark, Sumner gave in. Within a week, he and his wife were gone, moved to another town. I guess they couldn't deal with…everything."

"It wasn't your fault," Rodney said quietly.

The words hadn't even fully left his mouth before John straightened and leaned forward, face tense.

"_Don't_…say that," he ordered lowly, eyes dark. "He trusted me with his kid. His _daughter_. And I screwed up. That won't happen again."

It took Rodney a few moments to realize what John meant. With his baby blues wide, he said, "Wait—you think…Madison? Why the hell would you think something like that? Is _that_ the reason you've been chumming up to us? Because you think some nut case is going to steal my niece right out from under my nose? Because that's SO not going to hap—"

"_Rod_ney," interrupted John firmly, annoyance flickering across his features. "Would you calm down, buddy? Nothing—"

"Oh, so now we're back to 'buddy'? After what you just said? Not to mention the lying—sorry, _withholding_ information. AND the fact that you said Madison is going to go missing—"

"I didn't say that! I just said—_thought_ even, that there was a slight possibility that Madison _might_ go missing."

"Why?" came the immediate question, the scientist's gaze hard. He folded his arms across his chest, chin tilted up. "And it better be a good reason, Sheppard."

Yowch, back to last names then.

John frowned and nodded.

"Alright. Remember how I said that Missing Kids tossed the cases to the back burner?"

"Yes."

And succinct replies. Dinner was definitely not going as planned.

"Well, after the Sumner…issue, I decided to get them back out. Take a last run through of them."

"And?"

"And I realized that not only did the girls go missing every ten years or so, but that they all had two things in common. They were all blonde, and they all went missing near, around, or directly_ in_ Stone Manor."

Rodney stared, expressions flickering across his face at light speed. He finally settled on a cross between freaked and doubtful.

"So you think that…what? My house is eating kids or something?"

"Or something."

Nausea joined the cacophony of Rodney's expressions .

"Sheppard…"

"I know it sounds crazy, Rodney. Really, I do." John's hand twitched on the table top, as if making a move to take the scientist's. "But I did some poking around on the estate—"

"What—stalker!"

John rolled his eyes.

"_Before_ you moved in, Rodney…"

"…oh."

"Anyways, I did some poking around on the estate and found…something. A few somethings actually. And to tell you the truth, I thought I was crazy at first too."

"I think you're crazy _now._"

"Exactly," the detective agreed with a nod, his lips curving into a grim smile. "Which is why you need to see."

Rodney didn't even bother asking just _what_ it was he was supposed to see.

"Show me."

x x x

A/N: Yow, one chapter right after the other. That probably won't happen again, haha. I just had to get this one down before I forgot all the info I had in mind for it. I'm pretty sure that this was the last 'history lesson' chapter (God, I hope it was!).


	8. VIII

A/N: Hey, peoples! So this might be the last chapter for a couple weeks (exams and whatnot), but I'll still be working on it. Just really slowly, haha.

Ps. Yes, I backed up my files this time *g*

A/N2: PLEASE READ: near the end of the chapter, there's a small claustrophobic moment. Nothing too horrible, just thought I'd mention it just in case.

STATUS: TBC

RATING: K+

SUMMARY: AU and SLASH McKayxSheppard A Halloween fic! Rodney and his niece Madison buy a new (but old and frankly falling down) house in a small town (cliché enough yet?), which the locals believe to be haunted. Which it most definitely is. Inspired by Rose Red.

SPOILERS: Since it's AU, nothing.

WARNINGS: A bit of swearing. Our boys have quite the potty mouth sometimes.

DISCLAIMER: Everything Stargate Atlantis related is property of MGM. I own nothing.

x x x

**Song for this chapter: Nothing Else Matters by Metallica**

x x x

Last time:

"_I think you're crazy now."_

"_Exactly," the detective agreed with a nod, his lips curving into a grim smile. "Which is why you need to see."_

_Rodney didn't even bother asking just what it was he was supposed to see._

"_Show me."_

x x x

As soon as he got the go ahead from Rodney, John nodded and slid out of the diner booth.

"Let's grab Jinto and Ma—"

"Wait," Rodney cut in, grabbing the hem of John's black t-shirt. The scientist looked up at him with wide eyes. "Are you absolutely _sure_ that Madison's in danger?"

John met Rodney's baby blues, his own gaze softening as he nodded almost unnoticeably .

"I'm sure, Rodney. You have to see this."

There was a pause before Rodney nodded and stood, slapping on his game face.

"Alright, let's go then. But what about Madison and that Jinto kid?"

Pulling on his jacket, John glanced at the two kids before saying, "They can stay in the car. Jinto, by the way, goes to the local school. I figured Madison would like to have a familiar face waiting for her when she's enrolled."

Rodney blinked, colouring slightly.

"Oh. That's…that's really nice of you," he said awkwardly, stuffing his hands into his coat pockets.

John smiled lazily, eyes teasing.

"What can I say? I'm a nice guy." He straightened up and hit McKay's arm lightly. "By the way, I got the bill last time, buddy. It's your turn."

"What—I didn't even _have_ any coffee!" Rodney complained to the detective's retreating back.

x x x

"Uncle Mer? Why do we have to stay in the car?"

The gears spun in Rodney's head as he turned in his seat to glance back at Madison.

"Because we're only going to be a few minutes. So you and Jinto might as well stay in the car." His lips quirked wryly. "Besides, you like Sheppard's cop car. All the flashing lights and whatnot."

Madison smiled cheekily before sobering.

"But I forgot my bag inside. It has my drawing books."

Rodney shook his head and sunk back down into the uncomfortable leather seat. He was glad he had never been arrested before. One can't get a chiropractor in the big house.

"You don't need it, Maddie. You can draw later tonight."

"But—"

"There'll be those cool paper place mat things you can draw on in the restaurant," John interjected with one of his trademark goofy grins.

Rodney glanced at him in slight amusement. He wouldn't have been surprised if the man asked for one for himself. Then his brain caught up with what John had said.

"Restaurant?" asked three voices in unison.

John passed Rodney a _look_.

"Wha—oh. _Oh._ Right. The restaurant. Where we'll be going to eat. Once we're finished at the house. Gotcha."

Rolling his eyes, John pulled up to the curb outside Stone Manor. After turning off the engine, he swivelled around in the seat to look back at Jinto and Madison.

"Alright, you two. We'll only be a few minutes, but you stay in the car, okay?"

The pair nodded, Jinto even saluting sloppily.

Rodney smiled wryly.

"You can practically see the halos floating above their heads."

Once John made sure all the windows were up and the doors were locked, he and Rodney climbed out and started across the lawn.

"So, where did this restaurant thing come from?" Rodney asked while hopping along, trying to get a chunk of wet grass off his shoe.

John smiled in amusement, instinctively reaching out a hand to steady the scientist.

"I _did_ say I wanted to take you and Madison out."

"Well, yes. But I assumed the diner—"

"The whole 'diner' thing didn't exactly go as planned since _someone_ ruined it."

"And by someone, you mean you."

"Anyways," John continued, clearly ignoring Rodney's interruption. "I've reassessed the situation and decided to go with a nice Italian place once we're finished here. It'll be a good…"

"Distraction?"

"Not what I had in mind, but it'll do."

There was a pause before Rodney asked, "What—uh…what _did_ you have in mind, exactly?"

The only response he received was one of John's patented lazy smiles.

The scientist blinked before chuckling under his breath, lips twitching.

Once they reached the backyard, Rodney was most definitely NOT smiling. Twigs and leaves hung from his coat, his short hair sticking up in odd tufts.

"Tell me just _why_ the hell we couldn't go through the house? What's your fascination with the side 'path'? And I use that term as loosely as possible…"

"Quicker this way," came John's reply. Rodney eyed him with narrowed eyes, completely disgusted that the detective had somehow managed to keep himself twig-free.

"Freakin'…special ops…spikey-haired…" Rodney grumbled under his breath as he meticulously picked off each leaf one by one. He used any distraction he could to keep his eyes off the stone angel that was Prudence. He could practically feel her unseeing eyes boring a hole into his back. Fine hair stood on end, a shiver running down his spine…

A hand dropped down onto his shoulder.

Rodney jolted, head swinging up in surprise.

"Alright there, buddy?" John's hazel eyes were creased in concern as he chewed slightly at his bottom lip, most likely without even noticing. Underneath the lazy and relaxed exterior, he was probably just as freaked as Rodney. But one of them had to keep it together.

Besides, John had some 'splaining to do.

"What? Yes, yes. I'm fine," Rodney answered moodily, trying to ignore the closeness of the detective. He tugged his coat down to brush off any leaves he had missed, determinedly keeping his gaze elsewhere.

There was silence before he felt John move away from him.

"If you're sure. Come on, they're near the back."

"Oh. Wait, what? They? Who they?"

Rodney remained rooted to the spot, starting to become rather frustrated and even more nervous, if that were possible. He could practically see the end of his proverbial rope waving at him. Mockingly, of course.

With an impatient sound, John turned back around and reached out to grab Rodney's arm when he stopped. He let his hand drop to his side, face softening.

"Look, I'm so—"

"Would you stop trying to placate me and just tell me what the hell you're leading me off to?" Rodney snapped out, mustering up a scowl. He crossed his arms over his chest, chin raised against the cold air.

The longer the pair stood there, the more obvious the weight of Prudence's stone eyes became, even though they were standing behind her. They were near the back of the yard, vines still crawling over everything in sight, despite the winter weather.

Rodney's wide but determined gaze left Sheppard's to flicker over the man's shoulder. He seemed to be leading them off into a bush or something. It was hard to tell from all the dying vegetation. It was tall though, about the height of a fence.

He looked back at John, still waiting for an answer.

There was a long pause as John stared right back at him, his eyes flickering from Rodney to the stone Prudence every few moments, seemingly in indecisiveness. Finally he let out a sigh and ran a hand through his messy hair, eyes shutting briefly.

"I…I can't explain." Before Rodney could start up another tirade, he added hastily, "But not because I don't want to. It's just hard to explain. Just…trust me, alright?" He waited a beat before walking back over to the scientist, his fingers taking the hem of the man's coat sleeve. "I know you're cold and tired and stressed and probably hungry—" A smile flickered over his lips. "—but this won't take long. Alright?"

Rodney tried to glare at him, tried to hate the detective with his stupid hair and American drawl and lazy _everything_, but after a few moments he just sighed and nodded, practically deflating.

"Fine. Just…fine."

John kept his eyes on Rodney's baby blues, his gaze almost apologetic, before he gave a slight, decisive nod.

"Okay," came the simple reply before he turned away once again. His fingers stayed snug holding Rodney's coat sleeve as he led them off across the overgrown lawn. Somewhere along the short distance, their fingers had laced together without a complaint from either man.

By the time they had reached the fence-high vegetation, Rodney was internally freaking out about so many things he could have made a list. The top spot was being battled for by the 'crazy child-eating house' and a certain detective. He found it slightly disconcerting that he thought a maniacal house and a man who he obviously had a thing for was on the same level of scary. Something was wrong with that.

A loud creaking jolted him out of his thoughts.

John grinned slightly.

"Jumpy, much?"

"Oh, shut up."

With an amused but grim smile, John pushed the gate open until the back hit the metal fence with a clang.

'_Wait, where did that gate come from?_' Cursing himself for his lack of attention, Rodney quickly scanned the greenery, easily figuring out that the vegetation was fence-high because it was _covering_ a fence. John had broken the dead vines that covered the gate and pushed them away before opening it. '_Hence the creaking._' The metal was old and rickety, not to mention spotted with rust.

John took Rodney's hand like it was second nature and pulled him through into the—Rodney didn't even know what to call it. The back _back_ yard?

In the end, he decided it sort of looked like a courtyard. The stonework under his feet had vines running through the cracks, curling around everything in sight. An old crumbling fountain sat in the centre, completely dry. It had probably been dry for decades.

"Well, this is lovely," Rodney muttered, his nose scrunched as he gave the courtyard a once over.

He was deeply disturbed to find more statues, at least seven of them scattered around. Most of them were near the fence walls, dead vines wrapped around the stone bodies. It wasn't the statue part per se that disturbed him. It was simply the fact that they looked like children. Young girls.

He swallowed and took a step back, unknowingly pressing closer to John as a heaviness pushed down on his shoulders. The whole courtyard seemed to just _push_…shrink down around you…wanting to suffocate—

"Rodney."

Hands gripped his shoulders from behind, John's chest pressing against his back.

"Breathe."

Rodney forced his lips to part, lungs aching for air.

"What the hell is this place?" he asked thickly, using Sheppard's presence to ground himself.

"Remember those seven girls who went missing?"

One hand left Rodney's shoulder as John slipped it inside his coat pocket. He pulled out several pieces of paper that had been folded into fours. Once he was sure the scientist wasn't going to keel over, John let him go to unfold the papers.

"Missing Kids reports," Rodney said in understanding when he caught sight of the first page. "You can't seriously expect me to believe—"

"Just look," John told him. "That's all I ask." He held out the first page, waiting for Rodney to take it before he led him over to the statue in the far left corner.

The girl had long hair pulled up into a ponytail. A bike, also made completely of stone, was leaning against her side, the strings frozen in mid-air. She had a neutral look on her face, neither happy nor sad to be caught in time.

Rodney stared down at the girl. She could have easily passed as Madison. Feeling slightly nauseous, he looked down at the crinkled paper in his hand. The picture matched the stone girl exactly, down to the clothes and everything.

"This isn't possible."

"Rodney—"

"Shut up! And give me those." Rodney snatched the other six papers out of John's hand before stomping around the courtyard, matching the Missing Kids reports to the statues. Each and every one of them had a match, not one was missing.

He kneeled down in front of the last one, Jamie Monroe. She stared back at him, emotionless. Dead leaves crackled under his knee as he raised a hand, reaching out to touch the girl's stone shoulder. He stopped a few inches away before dropping his arm. '_This isn't possible. It isn't. This isn't possible. It…_'

John walked up quietly to kneel down beside him, twigs cracking under foot. He put a hand on Rodney's shoulder.

"Everything's going to be fi—"

"Don't tell me everything's going to be fine, Sheppard!" Rodney snarled, Jamie Monroe's report caught in his clenched fist. "This—this shouldn't even be possible! Do you _know_ how many laws of physics—hell, even _biology_ you're breaking here?" Arms flailed, nearly sending him flying back on his butt until John grabbed his shoulders to steady him.

"Rodney," John said firmly. "I mean it. Everything will be fine." He made sure the scientist's wide, blue eyes were on his determined ones before continuing. "Remember Sumner's little girl? Janey? And how I…" His mouth shut for a few moments, muscles tightening in his jaw. He gripped Rodney's shoulders firmly, giving him a bit of a shake. "I won't let that happen to Madison. I swear. I won't let this happen to her. Not again."

"John…"

"Rodney, trust me."

Trust. That was one thing Rodney had never excelled at.

Swallowing roughly, Rodney forced himself to nod, for once really _wanting_ to trust someone completely. It wasn't easy putting all his faith in someone, even if that someone _was_ John Sheppard, but if he were to let himself fall, he wouldn't want anyone else to catch him.

John let out a small breath, head ducking down for a second before his eyes were back on the other man's.

"Good. I won't let you down." They could both practically hear the unsaid, '_I won't fail again._'

Rodney nodded again, his throat apparently having abandoned him. He even forgot about the hard ground and branches digging into his knee, his quick breath coming out in pale clouds of air. The only thing he noticed was the closeness of John Sheppard, the man's familiar presence like a wall around them. A cold breeze blew harshly by, but all he registered was John's warm breath on his lips, their faces inches apart. Rodney's hand gripped John's forearm, the leather slightly bunched under his grip.

John's eyes slowly closed, his long and dark lashes inches from brushing against Rodney's pale skin. His own gaze started to lower, John's hand moving up to the side of his neck…

"Detective! Detective John!"

With a startled yelp, Rodney jerked backwards to land hard on his butt, leaves and branches crackling.

John immediately stood, holding out a hand to the fallen scientist as he looked over his shoulder.

"Who—"

"Detective!"

With narrowed eyes, John hauled Rodney to his feet before dragging him off through the gate, across the yard, and down the side of the house.

"Was that Jinto?" Rodney asked, puffing as he ran along.

"Yes," came the succinct reply, John's gaze fixed straight ahead.

Making it out onto the lawn, the pair immediately bee-lined it for the car. Jinto was hanging out of the previously closed window, waving his arms.

"Detective! Mister Rodney! Madison—"

Realizing that his niece wasn't even _in_ the car, Rodney scowled and snapped, "Where is she? Where did she go?"

Jinto pointed towards the house.

"She said she wanted to get her drawing books. That was almost ten minutes ago! She said she would be fast, before you two got back." The boy looked rather sheepish at that.

Immediately Rodney started for the house, only to be yanked back by John.

"Hold your horses there, buddy." Without waiting for a pissed reply, John turned to Jinto, still keeping a firm grip on Rodney's arm, and said, "We're going to go get her, okay? You stay here. And if anything happens, use the radio. You can do that for me, right?"

Jinto, though looking fairly confused, nodded.

"Sure."

"Great, good. Let's go already," Rodney insisted, forcibly pulling John across the lawn.

"Just taking some extra precautions. Doesn't hurt to be prepared, you know."

"We'll be in and out, real quick. Nothing to get your Boy Scout panties in a twist over."

"_Rod_ney…"

Stepping up onto the porch, Rodney headed for the open door and walked inside, John right behind him.

"Madis—"

**Slam.**

Both men spun around as the door slammed shut, windows rattling from the force.

Their wide eyes met.

"Oh shit."

x x x

A/N: Finally finished! =D I've been waiting _forever_ to do that RodneyXJohn scene. Hopefully that'll hold all of you until the next chapter *g*

Again, thanks for all the reviews!!


	9. IX

A/N: Well, as you can see, I survived my midterms and other hideous papers and whatnot (No one told me you had to work in university?!?). So once I realized that, 'hey! I'm FREE!!', I ran to the computer and started typing! Et, voila. Chapter Nine (hrm, maybe I should start actually _naming_ these chapters…)

Ps. We passed the thirty reviews mark! Thank you so much, everyone!!

STATUS: TBC

RATING: K+

SUMMARY: AU and SLASH McKayxSheppard A Halloween fic! Rodney and his niece Madison buy a new (but old and frankly falling down) house in a small town (cliché enough yet?), which the locals believe to be haunted. Which it most definitely is. Inspired by Rose Red.

SPOILERS: Since it's AU, nothing.

WARNINGS: A bit of swearing. Our boys have quite the potty mouth sometimes.

DISCLAIMER: Everything Stargate Atlantis related is property of MGM. I own nothing.

x x x

**Song for this chapter: Bring Me the Disco King (Lohner Mix) By David Bowie orQue Deviennent les Anges? by Vegastar**

x x x

Last time:

_Stepping up onto the porch, Rodney headed for the open door and walked inside, John right behind him._

"_Madis—"_

_**Slam.**_

_Both men spun around as the door slammed shut, windows rattling from the force._

_Their wide eyes met._

"_Oh shit."_

x x x

"Oh shit! Shit, shit—we're going to die! Getting eaten by my own house _wasn't_ how I pictured finally kicking the bucket! What are we going to do?"

Rodney spun around mid-rant to grab John by the shoulders.

"What are we going to do?!" he repeated with wide blue eyes, giving the detective a shake hard enough to rattle the man's brain.

"Calm down, for one thing," John replied as he blinked a few times, eyes feeling cross eyed.

Rodney took a breath and let go.

"Right, sorry. Calm. I can do that. Cool as a cucumber…"

Once he was sure the scientist wasn't going to start freaking out again, John headed for the front door and gave it a yank. It didn't budge. Didn't even make a creak.

"Well that sucks," he stated, running a hand through his hair.

Rodney rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, saying moodily, "Yes, yes it does. And thank you for stating that, Detective Obvious. Did they teach you that in cop school?"

John opened his mouth to retort before he shut it with a snap. He could let it go. The man's niece had been stolen by a ghost, after all.

"Gun," Rodney suddenly said, snapping his fingers excitedly. "You're a cop, so you must have a gun, right?"

"Yes…"

"Great! Then you can shoot the window and—"

"—in the car."

"—we can—what?"

A sigh.

"My gun. It's in the car. Outside."

"…oh."

John waited patiently, knowing an outburst was sure to follow. He wasn't disappointed.

"What the hell ever possessed you to leave your gun in the car?! With Jinto! Hel_lo_! We're fighting crazy ghost things here! I think we could use it more then the seven year old!"

"I don't think you can shoot ghosts anyways," John interrupted with a shrug as he headed for the parlour.

"What! How can you—where are you going?"

Without hesitation, Rodney quickly followed after John, eyebrows raising when the man grabbed an end table.

"What are you—oh. You don't think that's actually going to work, do you?" As much as Rodney wanted to get the hell out of the house, he really didn't think pitching an end table at a window was going to fly.

"Only one way to find out," John answered with a grunt as he hefted the small table up and headed back out into the foyer.

Rodney stayed hovering in the doorway, well away from the shards of glass and wood that were bound to fall.

With a glance over his shoulder to make sure Rodney was out of range, John hauled up the end table and heaved it at the large bay window beside the door. The result was just as Rodney predicted; lots of flying wood and glass pieces but no broken window.

Straightening up from his crouch, John brushed off splinters and glass bits and walked over to the window.

"You have got to be kidding me…"

Rodney moved over to peer around his shoulder. His lips pressed into a grim line, eyes fixed on the window.

There wasn't even a mark on the dirt-smudged glass, nothing to show that it was just bombarded with a table.

John shook his head and turned to Rodney.

"Look, I know you want to get out of here, but we're wasting time. Madison is--"

"Excuse me?"

The detective stared, watching as Rodney's expression went from scared and grim to angry in a second.

"What? I said that we're wasting time trying to get out when your niece is—"

"I _know_ what's happened to Madison, _Detective._ And did you really think that I was just going to leave her and escape myself?" Rodney snapped, his arms folding across his chest. "And of course I want to get out, but not without her. I know you think I can be a bit of a coward but—"

"Whoa—I never said that!" John interrupted roughly, eyes narrowing. "I didn't even think it! I know you're worried about Madison and want to help her, which is why I suggested that we _get moving_."

"While insinuating that I was putting myself before her," insisted Rodney, chin raised stubbornly.

John's jaw clenched.

"You know what? You're right, McKay. You _can_ be a bit of a coward. You've practically used me as a human shield ever since we first met! Not to mention bad with people. Here I am trying to _help_ you and you're all—"

"Oh, please," Rodney interrupted with a sneer. "We both know you're only helping so you don't feel bad about that Sumner person anymore."

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, John's hands tightened into fists. Sure, the man annoyed the hell out of him, but never had he wanted to hit him as much as he did now.

And that's when he realized something was wrong.

Him? Hit Rodney?

He shook his head, forcing his thoughts to sharpen out of its jumbled mess. He could feel a great heaviness on his shoulders, surrounding him like a thick mist. It was messing with him. _And_ his judgement.

"Rodney…"

"Oh, don't _Rodney_ me, Sheppard. You—"

"_Rod_ney, shut up for a second, would you? Think about what you're saying."

"I know exactly what I'm saying! You—"

John rolled his eyes and grabbed the scientist's shoulders, looking at him straight on.

"Rodney," he interrupted firmly. "What were we arguing about?"

"What? I don't know," came the flippant reply. "All I know is that you deserve getting yelled at for—for, uh…whatever it is that you said…"

John nodded, eyes narrowed in thought.

"Don't you get it? It's her."

"Who her? Stop trying to distract me from getting angry!"

When John stared at him pointedly, Rodney forced himself to stop and take a breather.

'_Alright, I'm angry at him. But why?_' There was a long pause, nearly two minutes of silence before realization dawned in his blue eyes.

"Oh my God. She's messing with us. With our _heads_."

John nodded again, fingers pressing into Rodney's jacket clad shoulders.

"Exactly. Just…just ignore the anger." Already he could feel it slowly evaporating, probably thanks to his realizing the truth.

Blue eyes stayed locked on hazel as Rodney's shoulders started to relax under John's hands. Eventually Rodney nodded, letting out a quiet breath.

"If she can do that…"

He left the rest unsaid.

John just nodded, his hands reluctantly returning to his sides.

"We should get moving," he said succinctly before turning and walking over to the large staircase.

There was a moment of hesitation before Rodney followed, his gaze darting around.

"Where are we going? There are a ton of rooms in this place…"

With a faint smile, John glanced over his shoulder and said, "If you were a crazy ghost hiding a kid, where would you hide her?"

A pause. Then,

"The attic."

"Bingo."

x x x

She scowled as she watched the two men climb the large staircase, one with grim determination and the other scared but willing.

Her…_influence_ hadn't worked. The dark haired one had worked it out too early, realizing what was happening before he gave into the desire to harm the other one.

She had hoped they would…_take care_ of each other and save her the trouble of having to do it herself, but no matter. She had another plan to initiate.

Clearly they were too strong together, their willpower easily—and probably unknowingly--mingling to strengthen the other's.

Her lips curled into a smile. There was only one thing to do.

She had to separate them.

Permanently.

x x x

"…I'm sorry I called you a coward," John murmured after a good ten minutes of silence. They had been walking down the twisting halls quietly, staying close together but not uttering a word. Rodney was relieved it had been John to break the silence.

"Don't be. It wasn't you. I mean, it _was_ you but not—" Rodney shut his mouth with a snap when he realized that he had started rambling. After sorting out his thoughts, he added awkwardly, "And I'm sorry for saying what I did about Sumner. I know that's not the only reason you're helping me. Us. Madison and I."

A faint smile tugged at the corners of John's mouth as he glanced at the scientist.

"You're right. It's not."

Rodney's lips curved but he didn't reply. Mainly because he never knew what to say after something like that.

"And seriously," John continued, giving the scientist's coat sleeve a bit of a reassuring tug. "You're not a coward. Especially with what's been happening to you. You've been…well, you've been really brave, Rodney."

"Yes, well…" Rodney could feel his cheeks heat up as he managed to get out an awkward reply. "Thanks. I suppose I have been. Genius, here."

John snickered and rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. How could I forget?"

With the apologies finally out in the open and the air clear, they lapsed into another silence, albeit a more content one. Well, as content as one could be while 'ghost hunting'.

Rodney shuddered.

And the attic. He didn't even want to think about that.

After a few minutes, he and John stopped at the end of the hall.

"I could have sworn that the stairs were here…" Rodney said with a perplexed expression. "I remembered because they were right beside that room with the funny purple coloured walls."

John's eyebrows rose.

"Funny purple walls, huh?"

Slipping past Rodney, John headed over to the nearest door to stick his head into the room. He let out a sigh and muttered something about there 'never being any lights on in this place' before he walked inside and over to the table beside a discarded desk. His hand found the lamp and switched the light on.

With a slightly scrunched nose, John peered around at the walls.

"Yup, definitely funny and purple," he called, a bit amused with the décor choice. "Rodney?"

When he received no reply, John frowned and switched the light back off, heading for the door.

"Rodney, did you hear m—crap."

He stared up and down the hallway, the scientist no where in sight.

"Well…shit, _Rod_ney."

Where the hell did he go?

x x x

A/N: Dun, dun, duuun. Yeah, you all saw that one coming, haha. Where, oh where did our little Rodney go? Or a better question would be, did he leave under his own steam or not?

Stay tuned, guys. And as always, thanks for reviewing!! I really can't stress my thanks enough =P


	10. X: Conclusion

A/N: Well, guys, it seems as though we've reached the end! I thought I had a few more chapters to go, but apparently Rodney and John got tired of getting their asses kicked by Prudence and took matters into their own hands. I'm not sure if I'll write an epilogue or not, so let me know what you think.

So grab a blankie and your favourite drink (I'm rather attached to Mojitos) and pull up a chair. This one will be trés long =P (twenty pages of long) and it starts off with a bit of a backtrack from Rodney's side of things.

Also, this one is a bit darker then previous chapters, meaning whump (of the mental and physical kind) for both our boys and a fair amount of swearing. But really, can you blame them?

STATUS: COMPLETE

RATING: K+

SUMMARY: AU and SLASH McKayxSheppard A Halloween fic! Rodney and his niece Madison buy a new (but old and frankly falling down) house in a small town (cliché enough yet?), which the locals believe to be haunted. Which it most definitely is. Inspired by Rose Red.

SPOILERS: Since it's AU, nothing.

WARNINGS: A bit of swearing. Our boys have quite the potty mouth sometimes.

DISCLAIMER: Everything Stargate Atlantis related is property of MGM. I own nothing.

x x x

**Song for Rodney: You Better Pray – Red Jumpsuit Apparatus  
**Song for John: Bring Me To Life – Evanescence

**Song for ending: Road to Nowhere – Ozzy Osbourne

x x x

Last time:

_When he received no reply, John frowned and switched the light back off, heading for the door._

"_Rodney, did you hear m—crap."_

_He stared up and down the hallway, the scientist no where in sight._

"_Well…shit, Rodney."_

_Where the hell did he go?_

x x x

Rodney sighed as he watched John walk into that stupid purple room, arms crossed tightly across his chest. He could hear the detective talking away, but he wasn't really listening. All Rodney wanted to do was find Madison and get the hell out of Dodge. Sure, he had dealt with stressful situations before, but this one was really pushing it. And as much as he hated to admit it, the thought of going through it without John Sheppard wasn't even within his capability to process.

"Uncle Mer?"

Rodney straightened up, mind blanking.

"Madison?" he questioned without thinking. Pushing away from the wall, Rodney hastily looked up and down the corridor, finding it completely empty. "Maddie?"

There was silence for a few long moments before,

"Uncle Mer? Where are you?"

Rodney let out a breath, caught somewhere between exasperation and relief.

"Where am I? Where are _you_?"

Forgetting about John completely, Rodney started off down the hallway, following Madison's voice.

"I'm not sure…" she called, voice getting louder as he walked on. "I think I'm in a study or something…I've never been here before."

Turning the corner, Rodney frowned in concentration. A study? '_Argh, there are tons of those in this stupid house!_'

"Hurry, Uncle Mer!" Madison continued, her voice turning nervous. "I don't know when Prudence will come back!"

Rodney cursed and picked up his pace, stopping only to poke his head inside already opened rooms. When he turned down another corridor, he slowed to a stop and huffed. Dead end.

"Who the hell puts a dead end in the middle of a hallway…" he grumbled as he turned around to go back the way he came. He barely took a step before he walked straight into a wall. "Ow! What the—shit…" The man's mouth dropped open as he slowly walked backwards, staring at the newly formed wall with disbelief. "Oh, you have _got_ to be kidding me…"

Absently rubbing his nose, he hesitantly turned to find a door on the other side of the hall. Where the dead end had been.

He stared, silently debating. After glancing back and forth from the new wall to the new door, he decided that unless he wanted to die from lack of food and water, he would have to go through the door.

Forgetting about his nose, he dropped his hand to the side and reluctantly headed for the door. He was about to grab the knob when a voice called out.

"Uncle Mer! Hurry!"

Rodney's eyes widened as he ripped open the door and burst into the room.

"Madison!"

He swivelled on the spot, trying to eyeball the whole room at the same time. The very empty room.

"Damn it," he muttered, staring at the sparse room in disgust. It was a study, just not the right one. With a sigh, he slapped the light switch on the wall, hoping to find another door. Instead, he found himself staring at a transparent woman. Prudence.

Rodney yelped and jumped backwards, hitting the door with a thud. His hand scrambled for the knob, wide blue eyes locked on Prudence's dead gaze.

"Oh, my God! Oh, my God!" he repeated in a terrified whisper. His fingers felt numb as they tried to grip the knob, fear coursing through him.

A slight smirk tugged at the dead woman's lips before the writing desk on the opposite side of the room slid rapidly across the floor to slam into Rodney's lower half, the edge of the wood digging into his stomach.

His breath left his lungs in a pained gasp, eyes shutting tightly.

"Son of a…shit!" he wheezed out, curling up as best he could against the pain.

"Uncle Mer!"

Rodney's head snapped up, squinted eyes glancing around before they landed on Prudence.

The smirk never left her face as she repeated in perfect pitch, "Uncle Mer! Hurry!"

It took Rodney all of half a second for realization to dawn.

"You…you bitch," he gasped, caught somewhere between anger and full out panic.

Prudence let out a quiet sigh, smirk fading. Her form flickered like a broken TV set as she slowly wandered over to Rodney, stopping in front of the desk that kept him firmly pinned against the door.

"You wouldn't resort to such harsh names if you knew what I have been through," she said gently, running the back of her hand gently down Rodney's cheek.

Rodney scowled, masking his sheer terror as he flung his head to the side with disgust. It may have been Prudence, but it certainly didn't look like the beautiful woman he had seen in the picture. This one seemed like she was on her way to decaying; skin darkened, white patches of bone visible…

He shuddered, practically snarling, "Oh, please. I _know_ what you've been through, you sick freak!" A small amount of satisfaction moved through him when he saw Prudence blink in shock. "Yes, that's right. And _yes_, it was horrible that you lost your daughter, but that gives you no right to steal other people's children!"

Prudence stared impassively at the scientist before snorting, eyes rolling.

"You have no comprehension of children. You have no idea what it's like to have one and then have her snatched away," she said tonelessly. Suddenly she smiled with apparent sympathy. "But have no fear…" Another caress down Rodney's cheek. "Don't you see? It will be better this way. Young Alice will come back to me and have a much better life. But first, you must be taken care of…"

"What?" Rodney squawked, his hands pushing with everything he had at the desk. It didn't even budge. It almost seemed to push against him harder.

Prudence's sympathetic smile stayed plastered on her face as she took a few steps back. Behind her, a lamp drifted up off the small night stand, cord curling gracefully in the air.

With Rodney's eyes locked on the lamp, he failed to see a bit of a frown flicker across Prudence's face.

"That man is very persistent," she muttered before seemingly shrugging it off. "No matter. You will be long dead before he arrives."

Rodney wasn't even listening to the woman's ravings.

"Oh, my God! D-don't! You really don't want to do this!" he insisted hastily, a last ditch attempt to change her mind. '_How the hell do you bribe a ghost?!_'

"Yes," Prudence assured him kindly. "I really do."

She watched with grim sympathy as the lamp drifted right over to Rodney. All he had time for was a scared sharp intake of breath before the cord snapped around his neck and tightened, the light bulb flickering.

Rodney clawed at his neck, trying to dig his fingers into the cord but it was too tightly wound with absolutely no slack. His lips parted, lungs starting to burn as he took in tiny gasps of air, each getting smaller as the seconds passed. Somewhere in the back of his mind he felt vaguely guilty for leaving John to find Madison on his own.

Black dots danced in front of his closing eyes as he slumped against the desktop with a thud.

x x x

"Rodney!"

John's feet thudded against the hardwood flooring as he jogged through the labyrinth of hallways, head turning left and right.

"Where the hell are you, McKay?"

Before he knew it, he had slowed to a stop at the top of the main stairs in the foyer. Confusion flickered across his face as he tried to work out how he had made it back to the front of the house. He quickly abandoned the question, honestly not caring. All he cared about was finding—

"Rodney! There you are…"

With relief written all over his face, John walked over to where the scientist was leaning against the wooden railing, staring down at the lower floor absently.

"You alright, buddy? You scared me good for a few minutes," John said with a bit of a frown. He put a hand on Rodney's shoulder, giving him a gentle shake. "Why the heck did you run off like that?"

Rodney shook his head, blue eyes dimmed. He glanced over at John before muttering, "I just…we've looked everywhere and Madison…" He trailed off, fingers nearly white from gripping the railing so tightly.

"Hey…" John sidled up next to the man, nudging their shoulders together. "We'll find her, Rodney. Don't give up on me here." He paused before adding quietly, "Remember what I said? Back in the courtyard?"

Rodney looked slightly confused before he quickly nodded.

"Yes, of course."

"Then trust me, buddy. We'll get Madison back." John wrapped his fingers around Rodney's left hand and gave it a squeeze. "I swear."

A grim smile pulled at Rodney's lips, baby blues lacking their usual spark.

"I think we should give up, John."

Immediately John stilled, eyes locked on the man's beside him.

"What?" he finally said after a few seconds of shocked silence. "You want to—why?"

"Because I'd rather get out of here before one of us is killed. Besides, this isn't even your problem." Rodney pulled his hand away from John's, obviously gearing up for one of his rants. "You shouldn't have even come in here! You should have just left it to me. I can get Madison back myself. You should leave. Now."

Before John had a chance to protest, Rodney was behind him and gripping his shoulders, steering him towards the stairs.

"What the hell, Rodney!"

John dug his heels into the flooring, bringing them to a halt. Slowly the pieces were clicking together in his head. His lips quirked into a grim smirk.

"Or should I say, Prudence?"

A quiet sigh ghosted over the back of his ear. If it really _had_ been Rodney, it would have sent tingles down his spine. Knowing it was Prudence just made him feel nauseous at the close contact.

"It's a shame you're so smart, John Sheppard. I was willing to keep you. You look so much like my Edward…And Alice seems to like you."

'_Alice? How would Alice know m—oh. Madison. She means Madison._'

"Yeah, well, what can I say?" John drawled as his mind quickly searched for a way out. "Could have been MENSA."

"Indeed."

That one word was all the warning John received before he was pushed roughly from behind, sending him over the railing. His world spun in a flurry of limbs and clothing as he prepared himself to hit the floor as he rushed down to meet it.

"Ach! No you don't, lad."

An icy hand grabbed his wrist and yanked. As soon as John felt his fingers touch the bottom of a railing post, he grabbed it tightly. The freezing hand disappeared, leaving him to reach up with his other hand and grab another post.

"Oh, Prudence. Was that really necessary, darling?"

John awkwardly craned his head back when he heard a male's voice from above him, but all he could see was the railing and the inside of his coat that was flopping over one eye.

"Yes, dear. It was. He and that other man have caused nothing but trouble—"

"Then throw them out of the house! You don't have to kill them…"

John's legs swung as he slowly started to pull himself up. Now holding 0n with one hand, he stretched his fingers wide as he reached with his right, inches from the railing.

"If you feel that strongly, Edward…you may escort this one out. It's too late for the other one."

'_The other one? What the hell does she mean by that?!_'

Unfortunately, it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who Prudence meant.

With new resolve, John grabbed the railing and pulled himself up. The wood dug into his chest as he flopped over the rail to land on safely on the floor, clothes rumpled.

"All right, lad?"

John jumped to his feet, quickly backing up from the transparent man before he realized who it was.

"Edward?" he said slowly, eyes wary. His hand dropped down to where his sidearm would have been. '_Well, at least Jinto's safe…_'

Edward smiled, eyes crinkling at the sides.

"That's me. Your great-great grandfather's brother. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, lad. Though I wish it were under better circumstances…"

"Uh…yeah," John supplied with a bit of a forced smile, still looking like a cat that was prepared to bolt. "I guess I should thank you. I probably would have broken my neck or something from the fall."

Edward's smile dimmed as he nodded.

"Yes, yes. You're quite welcome, lad, but frankly we don't have the time for pleasantries. Your friend is in grave danger and Prudence will be quick to find out that I haven't vacated you from the premises."

Immediately John straightened, hazel eyes narrowing.

"What's happened to him? What's happened to Rodney?"

Edward didn't reply. Instead, he turned and walked right through the wall. John blinked before realizing he had to take 'the mortal way'. With pursed lips, he quickly ran off into the corridor and down the hall to where Edward was waiting.

The transparent man pointed to the doorway at the end of the hall that definitely hadn't been there before.

"There," he said, backing away. "Hurry." Seconds later, he was gone.

John paused long enough to mutter a quick 'thank you!' before taking off down the hall and bursting into the room.

The first thing he saw was Rodney slumped down over a desk that had him up against another door, body faintly shuddering. The second thing he saw was the lamp cord wrapped around the man's neck.

Prudence looked over from where she had been observing in the corner. Her eyes narrowed, pieces of flesh peeling off her arms in eerie silence. They drifted down like leaves from a macabre tree, disappearing before hitting the ground.

"You son of a bitch," John snarled without thinking before grabbing the nightstand and heaving it towards her.

Even though it couldn't hurt the woman, it distracted her long enough for the lamp to drop and the desk to ease up. John raced forwards, carefully but firmly pulling Rodney over the piece of furniture. Yanking the scientist's arm around his shoulders, John practically dragged him out of the room and down the hall. He gave no thought as to where they were going. He just wanted to get as far away from Prudence as possible.

When he finally deemed it safe, John slowed to a stop and gently lay Rodney on the ground. Keeping his own panic in check, he quickly searched for a pulse, pressing two fingers to Rodney's neck.

"Ah, come on, buddy…" John muttered, leaning down to press an ear against Rodney's chest. He let out a quiet breath when he heard a slow heart beat thud. A shift of his fingers later and he found the pulse he had been searching for. Faint, but there. "Jesus, _Rod_ney…"

John dropped back onto his butt, leaning against the wall with relief. He ran a hand through his hair, unwilling to admit that it was just the least bit shaky. But it had been close. Too close. '_If Edward hadn't come…_'

John shook his head, not wanting to even _go_ there. With his eyes narrowed in determination, he leaned forward and gave Rodney's cheek a gentle pat.

"Alright, Rodney. Time to wake up," he announced, wanting to hear the man's snippy comments and stinging insults. The silence was just unnerving. "Come on, already." If quiet breaths weren't passing through Rodney's lips, he would have thought the scientist was dead. "_Rod_ney…"

This time he received a mumbled reply, muffled by a groan.

John's lips pulled into a grin, the relief hitting him like a brick to the face.

"Sorry? What was that?" he asked as he leaned closer, jokingly cupping his ear with a hand.

Rodney's eyes cracked open, showing a slit of bright blue.

"I said," he muttered, voice hoarse. "That hybrid American/Texan drawl of yours completely butchers my name…"

"Aw, you _love_ my drawl…"

Fighting to keep a smile off his face, Rodney rolled his eyes and stretched out an arm.

"What the hell happened? And help me up…"

"Shit, Rodney. Prudence choked you with a damned lamp cord," John muttered with a scowl as he carefully pulled Rodney up. Only instead of leaning him back against the wall, he pulled the man into his arms, tightly hugging him.

Rodney blinked, face half buried in John's shoulder.

"That explains why my throat hurts…"

Without thinking, he slipped his arms around the detective's waist to grip the back of his familiar smelling leather jacket.

After a few moments of silence, John admitted quietly, "You scared the hell out of me, buddy. I thought--…well, you know what I thought."

Rodney reluctantly pulled his head back so he could see John properly.

"I thought _that_ too…" he muttered, pain flickering across his abdomen in a mocking reminder. His eyes widened in sudden realization. "What if I die in here? Who the hell would take care of Madison? And what about—"

John cut him off with a firm shake of his shoulders, fingers holding tightly.

"You're _not_ going to die in here, Rodney. No one is. And that includes Madison."

"And you," Rodney blurted without thinking.

John blinked, a slightly surprised look flickering over his face.

"What?"

"And you," repeated Rodney, looking a bit more sure this time. "You never include yourself in these promises of yours. What about 'Rodney, I promise I won't die in here either'? Huh? What about that?"

After a moment, John's surprise faded into a warm smile.

"Rodney, I promise I won't die in here either," he echoed quietly, slipping one hand up Rodney's shoulder to cup the side of his neck.

"Well…good," Rodney muttered, suddenly all too aware of John's closeness. "I'm going to hold you to that…"

"I know you will," came the slightly teasing response before John closed the gap between them, his mouth gently covering Rodney's.

It took Rodney all of one second for everything to process before he was eagerly leaning closer, pressing his lips more firmly against the detective's.

Then reality kicked in, sending a sharp pain through his ribs.

"Okay, _ow_," he gasped out, gingerly pressing a hand against his lower chest.

John quirked an eyebrow, lightly placing his hand over Rodney's to pull it away from his chest.

"No one I've ever kissed has said 'ow' before…" he muttered jokingly as he carefully lifted the man's shirt to lightly prod at the bruised skin over his ribs.

"Surprise, surpri—ow! Are you _trying_ to make things worse?" Rodney huffed, smacking away John's hand.

John rolled his eyes, trying to keep a smile off his face. It felt good to hear Rodney snapping away, even though the poor guy was in pain.

"I think they're just bruised," he assured the man with a pat to his shoulder.

Rodney blinked, eyes wide.

"Are you sure? Because they feel cracked. Broken even. They might be broken."

"Rodney, if they were broken, you wouldn't even be able to sit up right now, let alone yell at me. You'll be fine."

Rodney opened his mouth to retort before he snapped it shut.

"We need to find Madison," he said firmly with a nod, determinedly pushing his 'broken' ribs to the backburner.

John grinned, suddenly looking all sorts of pleased.

"That's my boy! I knew you wouldn't give up that easily. That woman doesn't know anything."

"Huh?"

"Never mind, give me your arms."

Once they were both standing, Rodney let out a whoosh of breath, hoping his game face was plastered on.

"Alright, which way do we go through this Funhouse of Death and Destruction?"

John shook his head, lips quirking. It was a valid question though. How did you know which way to go if everything kept changing?

Movement over Rodney's shoulder captured John's gaze. He blinked in surprise when he saw Edward in all his translucent glory standing at the end of the corridor.

Rodney was still rambling on as Edward pointed down the hall, then made a gesture, motioning to the left. John nodded, watching as the ghost seemed to glance around and then disappear in silence.

"Right, let's go," John announced as he grabbed Rodney by the arm and started off down the hall.

"—and not to mention the bacteria! I mean, did you _see_ that woman? With that whole skin thin—what? Wait! How the hell do you know which way to go?"

"Had a little help," came the mysterious reply, complete with wiggled eyebrows.

Rodney stared.

"…uh-huh. You know what? Not going to ask."

"Good choice."

As soon as the pair turned the corner, they came to an abrupt halt. In front of them stretched a narrow flight of rising stairs. They could tell just by looking at it that they would have to go up single file. There was also no doubt as to where it led.

John slowly turned to look at Rodney, noting his pale but determined face.

"It would be a waste of time to say that you can wait here, wouldn't it?"

As expected, Rodney rolled his eyes.

"Obviously. And I'm not even going to bother with asking you."

John grinned slightly.

"You know me too well."

For a few moments, they both simply stood there, hazel eyes locked on blue before they made the silent decision to get it over with. Moving quietly, John headed for the stairs. His steps were careful, the narrow flight going almost straight up. Behind him he could hear quiet reassuring breathing coming from Rodney. The man, for once, was rather quiet. Self-preservation had apparently kicked in.

When John reached the door, he turned the knob and pushed it slowly open, leaving just enough space to get through. Staying low to the ground, he crept into the attic, ducking down behind two stacked trunks. He glanced over top of them before motioning for Rodney to follow.

Rodney's eyes widened slightly but he took a breath and scampered quietly over to John's side, trusting that the coast was clear.

"Where are they?" the scientist mouthed.

John pointed towards the top of the trunk before placing a finger over his lips. Silently they both peered over the edge of the black and copper steamer, gaze squinting through the low, warm lighting of the attic space. A small round window on the opposite end provided little light, the glass smudged with decades of dirt. Tiny dust particles floated silently in the thin rays of pale light.

But the important thing was that they could see a very alive Madison. Although, they could only tell she was alive because her chest rose and fell with each breath. The girl was lying on a makeshift bed, multiple sheets and blankets under her with a faded quilt on top. If anything, she seemed to be asleep.

Rodney frowned, wondering why the hell his niece was asleep when she should be trying to get the hell out of there.

"What's wrong with her?" he whispered harshly.

John shook his head, obviously knowing only as much as Rodney did. He opened his mouth to murmur just that when—

"I've put her in an unconscious state, a deep sleep. Which is what I should have done to you both."

Neither man had enough time to react before Rodney was sent crashing through the pile of trunks, landing roughly on the ground close to Madison. He uttered a groan but didn't move, eyes shut and head turned away from John.

"Shit," John swore as he jumped to his feet only to be shoved right back into the wall, an icy hand around his throat. He brought his hands up and gripped Prudence's wrist tightly, giving it a sharp push from both sides. If it had been anyone human, their wrist would have been broken. '_But noo…I have to fight a ghost!_'

But he knew. He _knew_ that this was supposed to happen. That it _would_ happen ever since he figured out what had been happening to all those girls. Children. Kids.

Madison.

John craned his neck as he gasped in small gulps of air, hoping to see through Prudence's transparent shoulder and catch a glimpse of Madison and Rodney.

A surge of relief flew through him when he spotted Rodney raising a hand to his head, obviously groaning and grumbling under his breath while he sat up. Seconds later, the scientist looked over, doing a double take when he saw John. The man's mouth dropped open in horror. John could practically see the gears in his head whirring.

Blackness started to creep into his vision. He desperately wanted to yell to Rodney to grab Madison and get moving, but he could barely get in a breath. His grip on Prudence's wrist loosened before his hands fell to his sides. Knowing he only had a minute or so left, John turned his gaze back to Rodney.

He was surprised—and kind of insulted—to find that Rodney was staring at something behind Prudence. The scientist's face had gone completely white, mouth opening and closing silently.

"I think you should let John Sheppard go," a female voice said firmly. "Because my brother seems rather attached to him. And frankly, that's a miracle."

The icy grip disappeared, dropping John to the floor gasping for breath like a fish out of water. Moving on autopilot, he scrambled across the ground and over to Rodney, still trying to fill his lungs as he put himself protectively in front of the man.

"N-no, it's alright," Rodney managed to get out, stumbling over his words. He seemed caught between staring at the blonde haired woman and checking over John in worry. In the end, Rodney grabbed onto John's arm and yanked him close, keeping his fingers firmly placed around his wrist to check for a constant, reassuring pulse while his eyes stayed glued to the blonde woman. The blonde, _transparent_ woman.

John sighed. '_Great. Another one._' It was like a clash between Beetlejuice and Casper.

"Rodney, who is she…" he muttered, absently rubbing his throat. "Not that I'm complaining or anything…"

"That's…that's Jeannie," Rodney said with a sort of awe. "That's my sister." He was suddenly glad that Madison was still 'asleep'. He had no idea how she would have taken seeing her mother.

John glanced at Rodney, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze before his gaze turned back to the two women. There would be time for talking about feelings later.

"Also? That's my daughter you're trying to do God knows what to," Jeannie continued with a patented McKay scowl. "And I have to tell you, I don't appreciate that."

Prudence's lips quirked into a faint condescending smile.

"That's not your daughter. That's my Alice. At least, she will be soon enough."

"That's not _your_ Alice," Jeannie stressed, shaking her head in honest sympathy. "That's not your daughter. And neither were those other poor girls either."

"They were not," agreed Prudence. "Only because they were not perfect. Not similar enough to my Alice. But this one…" She looked back at Madison, causing Rodney and John to straighten up and block the girl from view. "She…she is perfect."

John frowned in slight disbelief.

"But what about your real daughter?" he asked, ignoring the startled hushing sound from Rodney. "What about Alice? You're just going to leave her alone?"

Prudence fell silent, dead gaze lowering in thought.

"He's right, love. The lad is right."

All eyes turned to Edward. This time John and Rodney didn't even jump.

"What about our Alice? We should have searched for her decades ago…Just because she hasn't returned to this plane doesn't mean we can't find her, dear…"

Jeannie smiled, taking a step to the side.

"I think I can help you there…"

John and Rodney watched with wary—or in Rodney's case, wide—eyes as a bright light expanded from the air beside Jeannie, growing larger until a small figure emerged.

When the light died down, five pairs of eyes landed on the blonde girl who had to be no older the six or seven.

"Alice…" Prudence whispered, arms raising slowly from her sides. Without her even realizing it, her transparent skin and clothing seemed to weave back together.

To heal.

Alice smiled and excitedly ran over, flinging herself into her mother's arms. Prudence tightened her grip on her daughter as Edward wandered over to stand beside them, for all the world looking like a happy family.

Rodney cleared his throat, pretending to scratch his nose as he looked away, lips pressing tightly together.

With a smile, John dropped an arm around his scientist's shoulders, saving the teasing for later.

After a few long minutes, Prudence wiped at her eyes and straightened up, her hands never leaving Alice's small shoulders. She looked to John and Rodney, a beautiful young woman once again.

"I know I cannot apologize enough for what I've done, but I hope this will make at least a small amount of amends…"

She gestured towards the round window. John frowned while Rodney blinked, glancing at his sister. Jeannie smiled slightly and nodded in encouragement.

Moving slowly, Rodney took hold of John's hand, leading them both towards the window. Though he was feeling apprehensive about what he would see, Rodney wiped a patch clean with the sleeve of his coat before peering out.

"Oh…that _is_ impressive…isn't it…" he mumbled, his throat seeming to close up.

John looked over Rodney's shoulder, staring blankly.

Below them, the courtyard was alive with lights, each statue fading into nothing to leave behind the ghost of the girl it once was. One by one they rose up as glowing white orbs into the inky sky, floating gracefully past the window. The last orb stalled in front of the glass, its soft glow reflecting off the pane as John and Rodney stared in awe.

"Janey…" John mumbled, hand trembling slightly in Rodney's. The orb seemed to bob excitedly in reply before continuing its journey upwards. When the sky went back to its dark silence, Rodney and John turned reluctantly away.

They were surprised to find the attic empty, save for a transparent Jeannie leaning over her daughter.

Giving his sister time, Rodney turned to John and asked quietly, "What do you think happened to them?" There was no need to ask who _them_ was. The Stone Family was gone.

As if hearing them, a young girl's giggle echoed quietly before they were truly alone.

John smiled and shrugged.

"I think they're just fine."

Rodney nodded, a small nervous grin tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"And…us? We're—we're fine, right?"

With a teasing roll of his eyes, John leaned forward to press his lips firmly against Rodney's, hoping to convey everything he was feeling. Neither of them were especially good with talking. Well, when it came to feelings at least.

When he finally pulled back, he said to a rather dazed looking Rodney, "We're more then fine, buddy." A bit of a snicker escaped before he shook his head and looked over to Madison and Jeannie.

Jeannie was watching them with an amused smile, eyebrows raised.

"Well, that was unexpected, though hardly surprising," she said conversationally. "I mean, after that whole 'Sam Carter' incident, I knew—"

"Jeannie…" Rodney groaned, swiping his hand across his neck repeatedly in an 'ex-nay, ex-nay!' motion.

Jeannie smirked slightly before it faded into a genuine smile.

"Aw, Meredith. You're going to be okay," she gently assured him. "Especially with that man over there watching your back."

"Watching _both_ their backs," John corrected, glancing down at the sleeping Maddie.

Jeannie nodded, smiling broadly.

"She's in good hands then." There was a pause before, "I never doubted you, Meredith. I just want you to know that. I wouldn't have trusted my daughter to anyone else."

Rodney's hand shook in John's as he simply nodded, either not noticing or not caring that his eyes were glazing over.

"Thanks," he finally murmured, voice cracking. "I'm…I'm trying."

"You're doing a good job," Jeannie repeated gently. She frowned sternly. "Although cookies for dinner isn't such a healthy meal…" Her bright eyes turned to John. "And neither is a sundae after breakfast." John squirmed, clearing his throat innocently. "And no high speed chases with her in the car!"

"See?" Rodney muttered with a faint grin. "I told you so…"

"Can it, Rodney."

Jeannie chuckled before reluctantly straightening up.

"Well, I guess this is it…just—be careful, you two. Alright?"

John nodded, sending her a two fingered salute.

"We will," he promised, knowing it would be one he would keep for as long as he could.

Rodney nodded, his hand gripping John's so tightly the detective was surprised his fingers weren't cracking.

"We will," he echoed.

Jeannie watched her brother for a few moments before smiling gently.

"Love you, Mer."

Rodney's lips curved.

"Love you too," came the surprisingly easy answer.

Just as the light faded from the attic, a quiet groan escaped from Madison. She rolled onto her side and blinked sleepily.

"Uncle Mer? Mister John?" she mumbled, rubbing her eyes. "What happened?"

Rodney looked at John and waved his hands in a 'you're on your own, big guy' gesture. John rolled his eyes and answered with a weary smile, "We'll explain everything later, Maddie. For now—" Leaning down, he scooped up the girl and all her blankets before looking at Rodney. "Let's get outta here."

Rodney snorted tiredly.

"I second that."

x x x

"You found her! Geez, it took you long enough. I thought you guys had gotten lost or something!"

John and Rodney shared a glance as they trekked across the lawn, Jinto waving at them from the window of the cop car.

"Gotten lost in a house? Come on, kid. Get real," John said with a grin as he gently deposited Madison in the back seat. She promptly scooted over to share her blankets with Jinto.

Rodney eyed them as only a suspicious parent would before sliding into the front seat. John dropped into the driver's side, jamming the keys into the ignition and starting up the engine.

"Where're we going?" Rodney asked, looking as sleepy as Madison.

John sent him a fond smile.

"Thought we'd spend the night at my house. No offence, but your place kind of creeps me out."

Rodney snorted, fighting a smile.

"Idiot."

Leaning his temple against the cold window, he let his eyes drift shut. John pulled off down the dark street, their fingers lacing together.

x x x

A/N: Holy…cow. It's complete. And long. Maybe I should have chopped it into two cha—or not. We all know how _that_ plan ended.

Anyways, IT'S COMPLETE! Thank you SO MUCH for your reviews! You have no idea how it feels to have such faithful reviewers like you guys. In all honesty, I probably wouldn't have finished this without your feedback (y'all know who you are! *g* )

So thank you thank you thank you!

-Azure =D

Ps. epilogue?


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